


Tracing Happy Trails

by BrigidTheFae



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Inspired by Art, Nude Modeling, Rating for Language, Secret Crush, Smut, and for once it's not just Inuyasha, had to bring back that sex couch after all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25661032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrigidTheFae/pseuds/BrigidTheFae
Summary: Kagome’s a third year art major. She’s filled sketchbooks to the brim with everything she sees, so this figure drawing class should be a cakewalk. Maybe if the volunteer model wasn’t cute-as-sin, she wouldn’t feel like she was betraying the bookstore employee that she’s also secretly crushing on.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 210
Kudos: 283





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Started this one based on a variation of a piece I drew for @lemonlushff‘s Cinnamon and some comments made through the IY Book club server sorta had ideas taking off. Just a short fic, about 6 chapters. I meant to start back on Fever Dream after finishing Surf and Turf...but you see how well that went. I actually came very close to scrapping that weekend I dropped into a void. So...hopefully it reads well. (Yell at me if it doesn’t)

The instructor was late, which wasn't a surprise. The woman was flaky by nature, and it wasn't unheard of that students took advantage of the fifteen-minute rule with her class. Barely two weeks into the semester and there had been four instances of people walking out at a quarter past seven.

These were also the students that signed up for the class for the credit, and not because they were interested. After all, art courses were by default at the bottom of the humanities in college, and were naturally looked down on by STEM majors with disdain in particular. Art was an "easy" path. There was no skill to be had in the art field. If you could draw a line you could do art. It didn't require years of grad work and losing sleep to pick up a pencil or a paintbrush.

Bull. Shit.

Kagome twisted the graphite pencil in her hand as she leaned back in her chair. It took everything in her not to outwardly scowl at the slackers who were packing up their belongings as they watched the clock. It had irked her since grade school that in every art class she signed up for, there were at least three students who joined just because it was "easy". She flicked her eyes up to the clock on the wall, and sure enough it was once again 7:15. Chairs scraped against the floor as more than just the regular slackers were packing it in and taking off. She remained where she sat, twisting the pencil in her hands and debating pulling out her sketchbook.

Having your class set in the evening had a habit of losing students, and she had to wonder why the instructor had purposely done it that way.

At 7:18 the woman showed up, carrying her overly large boho bag on one shoulder and a greasy paper bag of what was likely her dinner. "My apologies class…oh dear." The instructor looked around and noticed that only Kagome remained. "Has there been an illness?"

Kagome took in the woman's appearance and couldn't bring herself to tell her that it was the school policy coupled with the late class time that made for most of the class to bail. She smiled half heartedly and gave a shrug. "I guess some of them had other classwork to study for?" She wanted to give the ones who typically stayed the benefit of the doubt.

The instructor set her bags down on the desk and crossed her arms. "That's a shame. I'd secured us a live model for the duration of the semester, but he's only available in the evenings." She looked at Kagome, tilting her head. "Do you have plans, or would you like to proceed with class as normal? I mean I wouldn't blame you if you needed to head out."

"No ma'am, I'd like to continue with class if you would," Kagome said quickly. It was her major, after all, and if it meant delaying completing the statistics homework she had back in her apartment, all the better.

"If you're sure, Miss….Higurashi? Yes, Kagome Higurashi, that's right!" The older woman chuckled to herself as she moved around the room, setting up the center of the room for the live model. "I've heard good things about you from the other instructors in the art field," she commented. "Very talented and an attention to detail that they haven't seen in a long time. When I saw your name on the registry I actually did a dance in front of my computer, I was so excited to see what you can do. And please, call me Kikyo. I know I've crossed into the later half of my thirties but I've only ever heard ma'am around my grandmother. I'm gonna hold out on that title for as long as I can."

Kagome nodded despite the blush that crossed her face, not expecting that kind of praise. Sure, she put a bit more effort into her work than her peers, but once she got into the zone she sorta…tuned everything else out. It wasn't intentional to upstage her peers, but some of them had seen it that way, and the drama that followed…it wasn't something she wanted attached to her name. Thankfully it seemed, that the instructors on campus were more focused on student productivity than gossip.

"Anyway," the Kikyo continued, "the model I managed to score has very good bone structure, and I can't wait to see what you make of him. It's a shame that the rest of the class is going to be behind, but that's their prerogative I suppose." As she completed her task she straightened and looked at her one student. "Simple enough this evening. I just want to get a feel for your portraiture so I want you to sketch a bust of our model. You're welcome to talk with him, and since he's going to be our subject for the semester I'd encourage it. Getting to know your model is a good way to transfer life into your art."

The younger woman nodded, bending to collect her sketch pad and tin of drawing pencils from her bag. She'd heard the instructor call the model in, telling him to make himself comfortable in the chair set up in the center of the room, before returning to her desk where her meal still sat in the paper bag. Kagome righted herself and set her sketch pad on the easel before her, looking up to see the model and nearly dropping her pencils.

Holy shit he was handsome!

Black hair fell around his shoulders in waves, curling at the ends and resting against tanned skin. Eyes the color of whiskey watched her in amusement as his lips quirked upwards in a smirk. A dusting of dark stubble traced his jawline and upper lip.

She'd never cared one way or another for facial hair, but she had to admit that it worked on him, and probably just as well without.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Oh…um, hi." _'Mama didn't teach you to use "um" you moron!'_

"What's your name?"

Fuck what _was_ her name? "K.. Kagome." _'Or to stutter, for fucks sake girl! Don't let a handsome face make you stupid!'_

His smile grew as he leaned back in his seat a bit. "Kagome, huh? I'm Inuyasha."

She _did not_ want to melt when she heard him use her name. She absolutely did not. Nope. Not at all. Kagome swallowed, letting her eyes drift downwards from those hypnotizing eyes and immediately regretted it. The dark blue button down was unbuttoned and untucked from his jeans, exposing the white tank underneath. On top of having a handsome face, he was also in really good shape.

Shit.

Fuck.

Goddammit she was screwed.

And she had to draw this man all semester? She was really screwed.

* * *

Inuyasha let his hands rest on the tops of his thighs as he watched the girl across from him blush as she regained her bearings. He'd reached the classroom door and heard Kikyo speaking, but to see only one student sitting in the classroom was a surprise. He felt kind of bad for the woman; she was a good teacher, but he had suspicions she was dating his manager. Not a big deal necessarily, but she did get wrapped up in whatever she was focused on and lost track of time.

Though this one student, she was cute. And not in appearance either. No, he thought she was beautiful, but her mannerisms were what he found cute. The look of shock when he sat down in front of her. How she blushed a bit when he said her name. How when she became focused on her work she'd chew on her bottom lip. He wasn't even sure if she knew she was doing it.

And when he considered the syllabus that Kikyo had presented him with when she first approached him for the position, he was really looking forward to what kind of reactions he could get out of Kagome.

The first ten minutes was spent in relative silence, save for the sound of Kikyo inhaling her dinner of Wendy's and responding to emails on her laptop. Kagome's pencils would lightly scratch against the paper, only pausing to glance up at him them quickly back to her work. Inuyasha enjoyed the silence normally, but this felt suffocating. He had to do something, or his leg would start bouncing here soon, and Kagome didn't need that as a distraction while she worked.

She was still trying to look at him without blushing after all.

"So…" he drew out slowly, watching her gaze flick upwards. Had to be careful and approach her like a deer so he didn't startle her. "Is art something you've been doing for a while?"

"I…Yes," she replied, switching pencils. "I started drawing more in the seventh grade, and when I got to high school I signed up for all the art classes that were available."

Inuyasha crossed his legs at the ankle as he stretched them out, careful so that he wouldn't accidentally bump the easel. "You want to do art for a living?" A soft hum was his response. "Do you have a specific field in mind?"

"Not entirely. I think I'd like to try my hand at illustration, maybe a graphic novel if I could work with a writer. There's always going back to my hometown and setting up a small studio to teach classes if I could secure the funding to rent a building and all that."

"Sounds like you have quite the plan."

The scratching of the pencil stopped and she looked over the easel directly at him with a hard look. "That sounds like you don't put much stock into the arts."

He held his hands up in defense, though if he were being honest he wouldn't be surprised if this woman wouldn't utilize her pencils as weapons. She had that kind of look that said she'd stab then ask questions later. "No no, I'm impressed! Usually I only hear students in the arts claim that they want to pursue a career at Disney or work for Marvel. They never go on to reach either and decide to give up and get a job at the movie rental store. What you just told me, that's more realistic, and there ain't nothing wrong with that."

Kagome continued to give him a skeptical look before she shrugged. "Once upon a time I thought I wanted to work for Marvel," she admitted. "But then I tried to imitate the style, and I just couldn't. No matter how many times I redrew Lady Death she never looked like the comic. I finally gave up on that idea, because I have my own style now. If I did manage to get hired on, I don't know how long I could do it. They expect a certain quality, and while I'm sure I could match it, that'd be the only thing I could do."

She leaned back and studied her work before reaching for her pencil case again. "No, I think I like working with my own style better than to be confined to a set of rules. I think that's part of why the idea of teaching is so appealing. You can teach the basic principles and how to use the materials, but really after that you're helping your students define their style and figure out what it is that they enjoy doing most."

He grinned as he listened to her talk. "I'm gonna be rooting for you, Kagome. I know you're gonna do great things."


	2. Chapter 2

Half a month into the new semester and Inuyasha was already sick of hearing the same questions from students. Why couldn't they rent a book that was for only for sale? Why did the books cost so damn much? Why was such and such required if the course was primarily online? Why the hell were they expected to shell out a hundred dollars for a cardboard folder with a 25-digit code?

He still didn't understand that one, and he'd been working in the campus bookstore since his sophomore year. For going on his fourth year he'd dealt with listening to the griping of his peers as they paid out the ass for textbooks and materials, and three of those he'd willingly done so for a paycheck. Not that it was a big one by any stretch, but it helped to keep him fed and covered what he needed. And since he didn't live on campus – a perk of having earned his house from high school savings and summer jobs – his expenses were limited to getting stuck with textbooks that were deemed out-of-date by the semester's end.

There were other perks to having to listen to students gripe at the start and end of the semester. Throughout the day, once the masses had gotten their lists filled, it was quiet. Except for around Christmas, in which he'd started to tally just how many times the DJ could fit "Feliz Navidad" into an hour without repeating it back to back. He'd gotten to seven in the previous year, and the DJ had been cutting it close by playing it before and after the commercial break. There was also people watching. When the days drug in the middle of a semester he could watch students browse the store and imagine what they were majoring in, what they were coming in for, and did they enjoy their path. It had become a game that he'd gotten particularly good at, but when a student showed blatant displeasure on their face it made it too easy.

There was also _her_.

Kagome Higurashi.

He'd only known her by her last name for the last couple years. She was a year behind him, and to this day he could still remember the first time he'd seen her when she stepped in the bookstore. She was withdrawn into herself, looking so small among the tall shelves she stood before. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple plait, and she wore a long sundress that stopped at her knees. Bright blue eyes flicked around the store and back up at the tall shelf as she clutched a slip of paper in her hand.

She was adorable, and before he realized it he was walking towards her, asking her if he could help her.

He _never_ approached people unless he was called upon specifically. Inuyasha was content to let others approach him, given his appearance. The silver hair, dog ears, and amber colored eyes could have been off-putting to some people. Even being a half demon he was still regarded as a full demon to some humans. It was just easier that way. But this woman, this tiny woman, had managed to get him to approach her without a second thought. She'd looked up at him, and he had briefly noticed that she'd have fit easily under his chin in an embrace, before she'd spoken and his heart had soared.

Fuck, he was in trouble. Her voice was so soft he might not have heard it if it weren't for his demon senses. She was a freshmen, and she was new to the area. She didn't know anyone, had no friends. She was doing the college thing on her own in a new town with no support to fall back on.

That was the moment he _knew_ he was in some shit.

He'd taken her list, which was really a slip of notebook paper with her classes written down, and led her to the counter. With only her last name and student number to go by in the records, he'd pulled up and printed a class list for her first semester. He then led her around the store, pulling books from the high shelves and carrying them for her while she collected any other supplies she might need. There were some items he discreetly told her that she could get for less at the office supply store a block over that was a fraction of the cost. He had to lean in towards her, and it hadn't escaped his notice that her breath had hitched at the proximity.

Or that her scent hadn't changed to something akin to fear or repulsion. Instinctively he knew what it had changed to, but he wasn't about to get his hopes up. It was obvious what he was, and his past relationships had never lasted long because of it.

The smile that she'd given him as he rang up her purchases was one he looked forward to every time she stepped in the bookstore from then on out. She was grateful for his help and with each time she came back in that year, she sought him out with her eyes. By the start of her second year and his third, she was asking for him. Not by name, because he'd been too gob smacked by her presence to offer her his name, and she'd never asked outright. She was too shy still, but he didn't mind. It was an endearing quality on her.

It was just as well that she didn't know his name. If she'd have known before he stepped in the door of the classroom that first night, she'd have been asking questions. What happened to his ears? Why was his hair dark? She knew from looking at him that he was a half demon, but never asked what so many did with their stares.

So when he was presented with the experimental demonic appearance suppression medicine by Dr. Mushin, he jumped at the chance to try it. After all, what could it hurt? It was developed by the head of the department himself, so he didn't have to worry about a student accidentally purifying him. There were no side effects to his demon blood, it merely gave him his human appearance on new moon nights. It was just the thing he could play with and pluck up the courage to speak to the shy woman he was enamored with. The fact that she was a student in the class he'd volunteered his nights to model for was a shock.

It was also the perfect opportunity.

Was it cheating because he wasn't being forthcoming? Probably? But the look she'd given him when he sat down across from her that first night had made it worth it. He'd seen – and smelled – that she liked what she saw _and_ he had learned her first name. That alone had been more than he'd gotten out of her in the last two years of helping her get her books.

Three nights out of the week after the book store closed, he'd drive back to his house, eat a quick bite and take the suppression pill. With a nicer outfit than the college's screen-printed tees and worn jeans, he'd head back to campus and head for the humanities wing where the one classroom was lit up. He hadn't understood why this instructor had chosen to set her class to this late in the day…at least not until she had approached him with the offer. It had been her only reason, because she had wanted _him_ to be the sole model for the term. She'd deliberately chosen to wait until the bookstore closed so that he could accept the offer without having to prioritize.

Kikyo didn't act as scatterbrained as she dressed, it seemed.

* * *

By the end of the first full month of the semester, Kagome's art class had learned that there was an "exclusive" volunteer model and attendance had picked back up. Of course there were still students who chose to skip out when Kikyo was late, but those who had an interest in the class chose to stick around.

Kagome knew better, of course.

It was him. He was the reason they weren't bailing as soon as the fifteen minute mark passed. Not that she could blame them. He was gorgeous. Even a blind man could tell.

Inuyasha appeared in the classroom on time, sometimes even earlier than she did, and she was usually one of the first students seated. She'd find him sitting at the instructor's desk, or he'd be walking about looking at the art on display from the previous term that students had left behind. Kikyo had even taken to putting up beginning sketches of the current class's work, though Kagome had been embarrassed that for the first week her initial portrait of Inuyasha had been the first and only new addition.

Course it wasn't her fault everyone had bailed that first night.

He'd seen it at the end of the class period that first night, but she'd seen him linger on it more than once as it hung on the wall. He'd been surprised by her skill, even telling her so, and his compliments had made her stomach flip. She should have been affronted by his comment, but the look in his eyes as she presented the sketch pad to him was something else. There was no backhanded tone that she would have heard from others as she'd been subjected to in the past; he was really taken aback by the portrait. It had fascinated him, like he had never seen anyone sketch him before.

That…was peculiar. Surely he knew he was handsome; he _had_ to know that he had garnered the gazes of both sexes in the class. Kagome tried not to think too deeply into it, but the fact that as more current work was posted on the walls, he _still_ kept returning to hers. Whether it was intentional or not, she was starting to notice that the rest of the class was picking up on the fact that he was favoring her artwork over the others.

Furthermore, he never disclosed his name to anyone else after that first night. When students rolled in for the second class and saw this specimen of a man reclined in the instructor's desk chair, they were more than put out that he wouldn't tell them his name. Inuyasha would ask for _their_ names, repeating them so he could make sure they were pronounced right, and that was that. Multiple people had tried to sweettalk him into giving his name each night, but each time he would say, "You should have been here the first night I was."

If only he'd stop looking at her every time he said it with a knowing smirk.

It was bad enough that when he did that her insides squirmed in delight, but after a week of this response a few students had clued in that _she_ knew his name and tried to weasel it out of _her._ Inuyasha had never told her that she couldn't tell them his name, but…she actually liked the rest of the class not knowing. It was like a special secret between the two of them. The first time she'd been approached, she'd bit her lip as she glanced his way, only to see him give a small shrug.

It was her choice.

She chose not to.

The smile he sent her way when she shook her head and replied "You should have been here when I was" made her heart skip a beat.

Hell yes, if he continued to smile at her like that, she'd even tell the Pope that she wouldn't share Inuyasha's name.

It was a treat, just for her to know, and she was going to _enjoy_ it. If that meant that she all but sprinted across campus to get to class extra early in the hopes of seeing him, so be it. It meant all the more time that she got to talk to him and use his name, and Kagome _liked_ using his name. When she greeted him, he gave her a smile that she never saw when others were around. It made her feel special.

Shit.

She did not have it bad.

She did not.

_Shit_.


	3. Chapter 3

By the second month, the lessons had progressed to dynamic posing, and to add another degree of difficulty, Kikyo had asked Inuyasha to dress in costume and carry props. Hitting up the drama department for spare costumes that weren't to be used for months later solved two problems. It kept the half demon from having to take time to shop, and the level of detail in the costumes weeded out the students who signed up thinking it would be an easy credit. After the first lesson when he was in ancient Greek armor as Ares, quite a few had withdrawn from the course.

Inuyasha set the helmet down in the seat he usually reclined in, leaning the sword against it. "You knew they'd quit," he told the older woman as she moved about the room.

"Not for certain," she said with a smile. "I _thought_ that they might. You don't get to be teaching the arts for over ten years without learning who your slackers are real quick."

"You do know your class size has dropped by half."

Kikyo shrugged. "It's their choice and their W on their transcripts. No skin off my nose if they didn't want to put effort into the work." She leveled him with a look, watching him gulp down the suppressor with water. The effects were almost immediate. "Considering what you agreed to later in the term I doubt you mind…so long as your _favorite_ student is still attending…"

"Feh. I don't know what you're getting on about." He was not blushing. Had to be a fever. That's all it was. A fever that was brought on quickly by the mention of a shy, raven haired beauty. He glanced at Kikyo and saw that she didn't look like she believed him. Fuck!

"Don't sulk Ares, you'll wrinkle the robes," she chided. "I know you do, but what I'd like to know is why you haven't told her the truth."

"Yeah you're gonna have to explain." He could only bullshit his way through this for so long. Maybe if he could draw this out long enough, the class would start arriving and cut the conversation off quick…

The instructor sighed, crossing her arms and mimicking his stance. "You know good and well. Miss Higurashi is going to find out sooner or later that you're the resident bookstore grump. Do you want her to know before or after you've posed naked?"

"….."

"Your silence stands to reason that you've not thought that far yet."

"Keh."

"Your blushing must mean that you haven't even _considered_ that she's going to see you naked."

Inuyasha scoffed and turned, but he knew it was pointless. The woman had a knack for seeing through people apparently, and she'd just read him like a book. Of _course_ he knew when he agreed to this that he was going to be doing nude modeling right at the end of the term. Kikyo had rearranged it so that not only would the nude drawings be the final project of the term, but set it so that if anyone were to identify him, they'd forget by the time the second term rolled around. Now that it had occurred to him that _Kagome_ would see all of him on display in a couple months' time, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He liked the woman. More than he probably should considering that they didn't speak a whole hell of a lot outside of the bookstore – that she knew of. As far as he knew that she knew, she was speaking to a completely different person in the classroom as she worked. She spoke openly and animatedly with his human appearance in the classroom, but in the bookstore she was still shy. Come to think of it, the most she talked in the classroom was _while_ she worked, because she had that easel in front of her with her work on it.

So she could hide.

Son of a fuck.

The half demon rubbed his stubbled chin and idly wondered if he should shave. Wasn't worth the trouble, and it would mess up Kagome's work so far. _'Not to mention if she comes in the bookstore she'll notice,'_ he frowned. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. He didn't have the courage to approach her in his half demon form outside of the bookstore, but with these suppression pills…maybe he could get a reading on how she thinks about him? Maybe ease into letting her know that they were one and the same?

A soft knock at the door had him spinning on his heel to see the object of his thoughts standing there. Kagome looked flushed, like she had sprinted to class again. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks a light pink, and her lips parted as she tried to act like she wasn't catching her breath. It was almost like…NO. Absolutely not. He was not going down that road. She didn't know who he really was and he didn't know how she'd react when she found out. He would not fantasize about making her look that way.

At least not until he knew for certain he had a shot.

For now, he'd do without. Or at the very least hold the thoughts in check until he was home alone.

"There you are, Kagome." He smiled, secretly delighting in the way she was beaming at him. Gods above, he really hoped that he could make this work.

* * *

With the sheer amount of force that she was blowing through her supplies, it was no wonder that she was stepping back into the bookstore at the end of the second month. The bookstore had better quality pencils and the appropriate sized sketchbooks that she needed for the class, even if it was a little pricier. The office supply store didn't have either in stock and she didn't want to wait on the backorder to come in when she could get them on campus for a few dollars more.

"Been a while since I saw you in here, Higurashi," the familiar gruff voice said. The silver haired man with the cute ears was crouched to her left, unloading a box of graphing calculators and hanging them on their designated hooks. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, it's okay," she said quickly. "I don't want you to stop what you're doing. I can get it."

Inuyasha grinned, standing up. "Nonsense. What if it's up too high? You think I'm gonna let you climb the racks?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You think I'd honestly do that?"

"I wouldn't put it past you. Besides," he reached out and delicately took her small hand within his clawed one. "You've got an artist's hands. What kind of man would I be if I let you hurt yourself when I'm available to help you?" Holding the customer's hand was going against everything he'd been taught not to do before he first started working there, but the store was practically empty. And they were adults, so it's not like anyone was going to tell them no.

Not that anyone really paid any attention. So long as you wore the college logo on your shirt and didn't call anyone a dumb fuck it was pretty laid back work.

Kagome felt her cheeks warm at the contact, but she didn't pull away. She rather liked the feel of the half demon's hands. They felt strong, slightly calloused, like he'd worked with his hands for years. "I'd say you were like most men," she said at last, once she remembered that he'd asked her a question.

"Then you haven't met the right men," Inuyasha said with a frown. The way she looked down, away from him bothered him. Something about that didn't sit right, and he'd bet dollars to donuts that she'd been let down by most men in her life. "What is it that you're looking for today? Pencils? Paper?" _'Your model for class?'_ he thought with a light sigh.

For a second, there was an inkling of an urge to tell her the truth. About everything, from the modeling to the experimental suppression pills he was taking and why he was doing it. He wanted to tell her that he fancied her, wanted to ask her out for coffee sometime, but wasn't sure how she'd react. Anything if it would erase that sad look from her eyes.

When Kagome looked back up at him, he was relieved to see that the expression had faded. "It…actually yes," she laughed. "I've all but blown through most of my darker leads already with shading. I think I underestimated how much I would enjoy this class."

Inuyasha tugged lightly on her hand and led her to the arts section of the store. "Remind me again, it was Figure Drawing 628, right?" He took pride in the fact that not only did he keep a straight face asking, but also that he sounded absentminded saying it.

"Yeah. It's so much fun. I don't know why some say they hate drawing people. To me it's more fascinating than landscapes."

He snorted. "Funny cause I heard from some students the other week who had dropped that very class. They had to come in and buy textbooks all over again, whining about how it was too hard. Guess they didn't like the challenge."

Kagome huffed. "They shouldn't have signed up in the first place."

The half demon nearly added on that they'd also complained about the model's choice of costume and the intricate details in the armor, but held his tongue. That would have blown his cover for certain. He had a better idea anyway. "So…if the class isn't that bad…what d'ya think their problem was?"

"Probably the model?" she shrugged. "He came in dressed like Ares. You should have heard the outbursts! 'Do we really have to draw all those details?' 'How are we going to get this finished before the end of the class?'…" With each complaint her voice did a poor imitation of one of the students that had dropped out.

Even her expressions were reflecting what he saw that night, and just like then, it was hard to keep a straight face. Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek until she finished. He'd never heard her talk so much outside of the classroom, and curiosity was getting the better of him. "What did you think about this model?"

Fuck he hoped that came off as flippant, because he was not searching for approval.

He was not.

Not…entirely.

Shit.

Kagome didn't hesitate to respond. "I actually liked that he put thought into his costume choice. I mean I know it probably came from the drama department, but he chose well. The dark reds and golds in the armor set really well against his skin tone and dark hair. He really looked like he stepped off of a movie set." She wasn't able to duck her head down quick enough to hide the slight blush that was rising up in her cheeks. This was bad, even just _thinking_ about Inuyasha in the costume was enough to turn her beet red. She hadn't looked further into the syllabus for the class yet, and a small part was nervous to. If him dressed as a representation of a Greek god could get her hot under the collar, anything after that could do her in.

Maybe she needed to think about planning her obituary. Cause of death: heart failure in figure drawing class because model was heart-stopping gorgeous.

They'd reached the section that held the art pens and pencils and Inuyasha reluctantly let her hand slip from his. She was engrossed in browsing, so she missed the look of disappointment at the loss of touch flash in his eyes. He couldn't get ahead of himself. From the little signals he was picking up based on how she spoke about his human appearance, it was _only_ his human appearance she found attractive. Dr. Mushin never said how long he could take the suppression pills, and they didn't know if there would be any long-term effects. If she was only interested in his human appearance… "It sounds like you have a bit of a crush on your art model," he teased, trying to lighten his mood.

Her hand had been about to grab a pack of 4Bs when he spoke. "I…I do not!"

"You hesitated just now."

"Because I was surprised you'd even suggest such a thing!" Kagome grabbed the 4Bs along with a few packs of the others she needed and stood up from her crouch.

"So? You're an adult. Nothing saying that you can't have crushes. Do you?"

The telltale blush on her cheeks gave her away before she spoke. "I…I don't know? Maybe? He is handsome." Was the bookstore employee right? Did she have a crush on Inuyasha? She knew she liked speaking with him before class, and after when there was an opportunity. She hadn't been lying when she said that he was handsome, but…

As the half demon guided her onto the next aisle to look at the sketch pads, she couldn't help but feel like she _shouldn't_ think this way about the model. Despite not knowing the half demon's name, she liked his presence as well. It was comforting, and he had been so kind to her since the start of her college life. Kagome dared glance out of the corner of her eye at him as he bent forward to sort some of the stock on the shelf, grumbling about how someone had "come in and tore the place up". Short silver hair, that brush of stubble on a strong jaw, and those cute ears…he was just as handsome as the art model. _'And those dark lashes make his eyes practically glow…'_ she thought idly, biting down on her lip.

What had gotten into her?! Why all of a sudden was she thinking this way?! She's been coming into this store for going on her third year of college, and now she was thinking of this nameless man as she would the model in her art class! Was she that hard up for companionship? She shook her head and turned her attention back to the half demon that was rearranging the shelves. _'You came in here for art supplies. Not scoping for a date. We can unpack whatever this is when we get back to the apartment.'_

When she had her sketch pads selected, Inuyasha had taken them and led her back to the checkout counter when she had everything she needed. He decided that he wasn't going to keep on with asking her about her feelings on her art model. Her scent had been a clue that she was fascinated with him, but he wouldn't go so far as to say that she was aroused. As he watched her leave with her purchases – which unknown to her he was swiping his discount card to give her wallet a break – he should have felt a pang of jealousy. She'd been taken with his appearance as a human from night one, but for over two years hadn't had the ability to ask him his name. Of course, _he_ could have offered it to her, but then she'd been so shy around him she might've assumed he wanted something. The way she had responded to his comments earlier only confirmed that.

He returned to where he was unpacking calculators and dropped to the floor with a groan. She was too shy and he was too chicken. They made a fine pair. The half demon reached into the box and grabbed a handful of TI-84s, just staring at them in thought. If he could wiggle an answer out of her about his human appearance as the bookstore employee, could he do the same as the art model to get her opinion about him as a half demon?

"Son of a fuck it could just work…" he mumbled. If he played his cards right he might just have a snowball's chance in hell at asking Kagome out after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kagome!"

The woman in question stopped, panting as she turned to see who could have possibly called out to her. It was the end of the day for most classes, and very few students were on campus now. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted the taller man wave to her as he crossed the courtyard. It wasn't every day a handsome man called out to her in public. Come to think of it the last time it happened had been at the bookstore…

"Inuyasha."

The dark haired man was smiling as he approached, and she had to will herself not to act like a starstruck schoolgirl because he was smiling _at her_. He had called out for _her_. It was nice that for once the good looking guy was focused on her, even if there wasn't anything to come from it. Her high school years had been spent as a detour sign for her friends, directing the guys to where they were. No more. So if the equivalent of sex on legs was focused on her, she was going to enjoy the hell out of it.

"You have to cross the campus in the dark?" he asked with a frown as he stopped in front of her.

She shrugged lightly, so as not to jostle the bag on her shoulder. "It's how my schedule has been laid out this term. This is nothing," she assured him, "I've had to do labs for chemistry class in my first year even later than this."

Inuyasha's frown deepened. Sure the campus security was good, but the idea of her wandering around even later than this when she was a freshmen really didn't sit right with him. Something he told her in no uncertain terms when he asked "When does the class you have before this one end?"

"About a quarter till seven. Why?"

"Because I can arrive early and wait for you. Walk with you to this class."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that! You probably have a lot of other things to do before class! I wouldn't want you to put yourself out-"

"I want to," he told her firmly. "You're too beautiful to be alone at night. Some crazy person might snatch you up and make you a living doll for their collection… What?" The sudden case of giggles that erupted from the small woman before him was confusing.

"I don't know what I find funnier. That you called me beautiful or that image of becoming a living doll."

Inuyasha laid his free hand on the small of her back and gently guided her to the classroom. "Well I don't know how accurate the living doll theory is, but I'm not wrong about you being beautiful." His other arm shouldered the duffel that his costume was in. It was still Ares, but Kikyo had started having him leave off parts of the armor, wanting the students to study how the muscles moved. Without even glancing down at her he could tell that her scent had changed with his words. She was flattered, that much was obvious, but what wasn't was why she felt the need to contradict him.

She really hoped he couldn't see her blush in with the low light outside the building they approached. "If you say so, Inuyasha."

He didn't like how she brushed his comment off like that either. When they entered the classroom, it was empty. Once again, Kikyo hadn't shown up early for this class to prepare, which was just as well tonight. He was going to get to the bottom of this. As Kagome set her things down at her favorite seat, he dropped his duffel behind the folding screen that Kikyo had left for him to change behind. It was easier than maneuvering in the bathroom stalls, and he always showed up early anyway. He turned to look at her and crossed his arms. "I do say so, Kagome. Ya wanna tell me why you have such a low view of yourself?"

"Do I have to?" she sighed.

"We have time, sweetheart. Spill."

Kagome chewed her lip. Part of her didn't want to say, but she knew he wouldn't be satisfied until she gave him something. At least it was just the two of them. Most of the students wouldn't roll into the classroom until five minutes past the expected time. "Fine," she relented at last. "when I was growing up, I wasn't noticed in my group of friends. They were popular and pretty. Everything came easy to them. In high school, if a boy approached me, it was because he was looking for one of my friends and wanted to pass along a message. That's all I was good for. If I did get a boyfriend, it never lasted long, and I learned later that it was because of a dare -"

"That's a crock of shit."

"Then should I go on about my college life? About how I know very few people outside of classes? I could continue but it's going to get depressing Inuyasha." She visibly winced as she thought about it. Fucking hell her social life sucked, didn't it? And here she thought that getting out of high school would be an improvement. Then again…she did meet the half demon at the bookstore, and now Inuyasha…so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"Keh. You know good and damn well all that stuff you just said is a load of shit." Inuyasha dropped into the chair next to Kagome's and took her hand in his. "First off – your first problem is that these were _boys_. Boys are incredibly stupid. Their brain's haven't finished fusing together, even if they ain't got that soft spot anymore. Second off – I don't know what your friends from school look like, but I highly doubt that they're any prettier."

"They followed all the trends in the magazines. I didn't." _'Great, add on a half-assed argument. Way to go, Kagome.'_

"And you didn't have to. Even not knowing what you looked like in high school I know you didn't need to do all that crap." Inuyasha snorted as his thumb began to rub circles against her hand. "The only opinions you should even entertain listening to is a real man's. And that's only after your own."

Kagome wanted to laugh again. "A real man, huh? And where do I find one of those?"

"Right here," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. Kagome sounded defeated even with that sad attempt at sarcasm. Her gaze had settled on their joined hands, and he gave hers another squeeze to get her to look up at him. Inuyasha needed her to see that he was serious. That he meant every word.

That… shit what was he going to say? Those blue eyes had managed to toss every thought he had out the window. He couldn't remember what he was going to say next. At all.

He knew that reaching over and brushing his fingers against her cheek wasn't in the plan. Neither was finding himself leaning forward as the hand that grazed her cheek drew her towards him. Or maybe she was leaning forward too, he couldn't be sure. Inuyasha knew he could feel her breath hitch against his lips as they grew closer…she was so close he could…

The loud bang of a garbage can being emptied somewhere in the hallway jolted them back to reality. Kagome looked embarrassed as she sat back in her seat, muttering an apology and trying to compose herself. She'd…she'd just…she'd nearly _kissed_ him, hadn't she? A man she barely knew. This was not her. She didn't do things like this, but…part of her wished they hadn't been interrupted.

Fuck.

Inuyasha leaned back and cleared his throat. Damn, he'd been so close too! He hadn't meant for it to go that far, but everything about her drew him in and he forgot himself. She did blush prettily when she murmured her apology, though to him, she had no reason. He'd been the one to reach for her hand, touch her cheek, pull her close. His own apology came out sounding kind of hoarse, so he stood and moved to change into the costume while she busied herself with unpacking her materials.

Class would be starting soon.

* * *

Kagome thought she would have been partially glad to finish class this night. She could go back to her apartment, change into her pajamas, and binge on what was left of her ice cream. Spend the weekend trying to forget how she had nearly made a fool of herself with Inuyasha and the almost kiss. Try to forget how defined his muscles were in the wrapped toga that had been underneath the armor.

It didn't help that when he stepped out in just the toga, exposing the majority of his chest, she'd nearly whimpered. She was pretty sure her expression had given her away, if his cheeky grin was any indication. He'd asked if she was alright, like they hadn't been millimeters from kissing minutes before. Kagome shouldn't have been surprised that he was cut like an actual god. The way that dark blue shirt she first saw him in had hugged his form was proof enough. And then, as the weeks had moved on, pieces of armor had been taken off. The first time she'd seen his bare arms her first thought had been what it must feel like to be wrapped in them.

He probably gave great hugs.

If only her thoughts had stopped at hugging, she might have been alright. That night had been almost as embarrassing as this one. It was like he _knew_ what she was thinking down to the dirty details. Kagome had a shit poker face and knew it, but this was beyond her expressions giving her away.

Tonight the last vestiges of his armor was gone, standing before everyone in the wine red toga that was held in place by a metal brooch on his left shoulder. There was still the wrap underneath that it was belted to, but for some reason she felt like he was more exposed now than ever. Maybe it was because of earlier when they were talking. Or maybe it was the fact that he wasn't breaking eye contact with her during the entire class period. Hell – maybe it was because she was seeing two inches of skin above his knee caps now. Kagome couldn't put her finger on it, but something was different.

As the last of the students filed out, Kikyo gave them a parting wave, mentioning that she had a date with her TV and a Mad Men marathon on the DVR. Kagome couldn't help but marvel that her instructor trusted a student and a volunteer enough to lock up behind them. Then again…she could simply be a few French fries short of a super-size order. It didn't really matter in that moment, because Inuyasha had finished changing into his regular clothes and was looking at her expectantly.

Oh shit, she was being asked something.

"You alright Kagome?" he repeated.

"Uh…yeah," she swallowed. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?"

"I said it's pretty late. You want me to walk you to your dorm?"

She shook her head. "Oh no that's alright. No, I have an apartment off campus."

"Then let me walk you to your car?"

Inuyasha looked determined to be a gentleman, she could tell that much, so she felt guilty about what she said next. "I don't drive."

His brows lowered. "Then how are you getting to classes – and you'd best not say by walking."

Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Alright then, I won't."

"Fucking hell," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. This small woman, this _tiny_ woman that was sitting before him did _not_ just tell him that she _walked_ to classes and back in the dark, and then also walked back to her apartment after her last class – _alone_. Could he smell toast burning? Was he having a stroke? He glanced down at her, and she wasn't giving any indication that she was joking.

Fuck.

He'd been teasing about the living doll scenario earlier, thinking that she had a god damned car that she was using. And to know that she didn't…and living off campus….even the closest apartments were a good ten minute walk from here, and they weren't the best ones that a female college student should choose if she were living by herself. The city wasn't dangerous per se, but it wasn't good for a woman to be walking alone at night on principle. The world wasn't like it used to be years ago. Hell it wasn't even safe for a man to walk alone at night in some places. Her words earlier reminded him that her lack of social connections outside of class meant she _did_ live alone and fuck he wanted to scream.

"You know what. Give me your phone."

"What? Why?"

"Let me see it," he said, holding out his hand. There was no hesitation as she handed him her device, and part of him was thrilled that she had some trust in him. The other part wished she had been more pushy to get an answer before she gave it to him, but that was his paranoid brain talking, trying to create images of what could happen if he weren't around to look out for her. The only thing that was keeping him from going down that particular dark hole was the feel and scent of Kagome as she stood behind him, trying to peek over his shoulder to watch. "I'm putting in my number," he offered, sending a quick text to his phone through her number so he'd have it for his contacts. "You call or text me anytime, day or night. I don't care what time it is, if I'm in the middle of eating or even asleep. I don't like the idea of you walking by yourself back and forth to campus – even in broad daylight – so call me and I'll come get you."

"That… Inuyasha, that's very sweet, but I can't ask that of you. You have your own life. You can't drop everything to come give me a lift to classes…"

"The hell I can't," he cut her off. "Ain't nothing that I need to do in a day that's more important than your safety."

Kagome felt her cheeks heat up. No one outside of her family had ever said something like that to her, and her gut was telling her that Inuyasha meant every word. "You don't even know where I live," she replied, feeling stupid for even saying it.

"You're right," he grinned. "I don't, so you're gonna have to give me directions when we get to my truck."

"I – I'm sorry. What?"

"I'm taking you home." He turned and shouldered his duffle bag, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can gape at me like a fish all you want but I'm not going anywhere till you're walking with me, Ka-Go-Me."

"I…I don't know…" Why was she digging her heels in about this? They'd talked for a few months now; they were practically friends, and he was offering to drive her home. Like a gentleman. She felt safe around him, so it wasn't that. Was it…the near kiss? Nah, it couldn't be. He'd never brought it up again, so she shouldn't think on it either.

Right?

Right.

Kagome picked up her bag and sketchpad and stood up. Inuyasha only grinned wider and she was not going to think about how much she liked seeing him smile. She wasn't. Drawing him broody all night had been nice, but the way he smiled lit his face up, giving him a boyish charm….shit she was thinking about his smile. Dammit.

Inuyasha made sure to lock the door to the classroom behind him after Kagome went through, before placing a hand at the small of her back and leading her out to the student parking lot. As far as she knew he was only a volunteer, but to his good fortune she didn't think to ask why a "guest" was using student parking or why there was a student parking sticker in the corner of his windshield. He did have to admit that he liked the sight of her sitting there in the passenger seat, and it took great effort on his part to ignore the urge to lean over and get that kiss he'd almost gotten an hour and a half before. Instead he asked her to lead the way as he started the engine and backed out.

On the drive to her apartment he discovered two good things. One being that the apartment building was not the one he was thinking of. It was in a better part of the town and had a good reputation for being affordable for students and well taken care of. The other was that his own house was a five-minute drive from the apartments, so it would be a cinch to come pick her up whenever. A very good thing, because said apartment was a ten minute drive from campus, and he wasn't about to begin to calculate how much time she spent on foot by herself trekking back and forth.

Nope, not going to go down that hole again. He had to unclench his hands from the steering wheel as it was. He unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out, darting around the front of the truck to open her door before she even reached for the handle.

"I could get it you know," she smiled.

"Yeah, but what kind of decent man would I be if I let you?" he grinned back. "Now, what's your apartment number?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm gonna walk you to your door."

Kagome sighed. Inuyasha really wasn't going to let her walk by herself, was he? The man was waiting for her to lead the way. _'It's not like the apartment is an all-girl's dorm,'_ she reminded herself. There were plenty of people who were bringing "guests" up to their place. Whoever was in the apartment beneath hers certainly had no qualms about keeping things on the down low, but from the sounds she heard at night whoever was with them was certainly going down low and the tenant appreciated it.

Wordlessly, she reached behind the seat for her sketchpad and shouldered her bag. The door was shut behind her and before she could blink he was waiting for her at the front door with it held open. Maybe it was late and her brain was fried, but she hadn't seen him move. There was no way a human man was capable of that kind of speed. Now a demon on the other hand…but…Inuyasha wasn't a demon.

The elevator should have been the logical choice, but Kagome wanted to be selfish and stay with him for just a little longer, so she turned left and began to go up the stairs. He followed without complaint, nor did he voice using the elevator instead. She secretly hoped that he enjoyed her presence as much as she did his.

"About…earlier," he said suddenly, and she felt her heart skip a beat. "What…what happened before class. I have to ask…"

' _Oh god, here it comes. It was a mistake. That wasn't what he intended-'_

"…do you…you have a boyfriend?"

"W-what?" Kagome stopped on the flight of stairs and looked up at him. "What makes you think I have a boyfriend?"

Inuyasha shrugged, feeling a bit of a blush run up his neck. "I mean…I don't want to do anything that might land you in hot water with your boyfriend."

She tried not to laugh outright as she started up the steps again. "It's funny that you think I have one, considering what I told you."

"But you don't? Not even in another town?" God he hoped that didn't sound as hopeful out loud as it did in his head.

"No," she shook her head. "Not even in another town." The relieved grin she glimpsed as he followed her made her bite down on her lip. She shouldn't enjoy that that made him so happy. They only knew each other through the art class, and she had her doubts that he would have spoken to her otherwise under other circumstances.

When she voiced that thought, they'd reached her door. A bit disappointing, but she also wasn't expecting anything either. It's not like it was a date. They weren't dating. They weren't even a couple.

"How do you know that?" he countered, standing toe to toe with her in front of her door. Inuyasha glanced up over her head, cataloguing the door number to memory. "How do you know that I wouldn't want to speak to you if I'd seen you for the first time in a café or something?"

She set her bag and sketchpad to rest against the door, giving a small shrug. "There's more noticeable women out there in the world."

"And you think you're not one of them."

"I know I'm not one of them, Inuyasha."

"Feh," he scoffed. "There you go with that again. You mean to tell me that you don't think anyone would be interested. What about that half demon you've talked about? You don't think he'd be interested in you?" It was probably a dirty trick, leaning into his plan like this to gauge her opinion of him, but fuck it. She'd brought up the half demon in conversation before a few times, and he'd even mentioned that he'd "run" into him on an occasion or two.

Kagome tried not to groan. He wasn't making this easy for her, and why did he have to bring up the guy with the cute ears in the bookstore anyway? That wasn't helping the situation at all. "I don't," she muttered. "I only ever see him there when I have to buy new supplies for class. Not exactly a way to form a relationship."

"Fine. What do you think of him, then?" Inuyasha shifted on the spot, hoping he wasn't fucking his chances up. She looked unsure, and he wasn't taking that as a good sign. Then… her scent changed. He had to resist the urge to actually sniff the air visibly. The experimental drug only transformed his features; Mushin hadn't developed it to muffle the senses, and he'd nearly outted himself as the half demon he really was. Or just a weirdo.

"I… I think he's handsome, and very kind…" Her cheeks felt warm and glanced down, hoping it wasn't noticeable. She shouldn't feel guilty saying this to the man before her, but…she'd never been in a position where she nearly kissed the half demon either.

"So he hasn't ever tried to make a move? Not once?"

"Well, I mean… he did hold my hand as he led me around the store the last time I stopped in."

"Keh. He's gonna have to do better than that."

"Do better…what? I-Inuyasha?" Kagome looked up upon hearing his hand connect with the door behind her. his gaze was set on hers as his other hand came up to cup her cheek again. She was pretty sure he could hear how her heartbeat had picked up as he leaned in until their noses touched. He couldn't be about to – could he? No, no there had to be another reason –

"That half demon needs to get his head on straight," he murmured, brushing his thumb across her bottom lip. That little intake of breath was hard to ignore. "I'm a patient man, but I don't think I can wait for him to decide if he's going to scoop you up. Not when I'm right here…"

With the first brush of his lips against hers, Kagome couldn't contain the small noise she made. It felt so nice that the second kiss became more urgent, swallowing her moan before it could escape. His mouth slanted over hers, showing her exactly what he could offer. Kagome forgot everything but him as she let herself enjoy the kiss. She stepped closer, reaching out for his shoulders as the hand on the door dropped to wrap around her waist.

Oh god, she had been right. Even holding her to him felt wonderful. The way his tongue darted out against her bottom lip had nothing to do with that either, but it damn sure didn't take away from it. she wished it didn't have to end but…well…she couldn't exactly invite him in, could she?

No.

Well…

_No_.

Fuck.

She was going to have to have a talk with her libido later. After her meeting with Ben and Jerry. Probably have to bring the 'tachi in as a compromising tool. God knows the image she was looking up at would fuel her dreams for the weekend.

Inuyasha could only pray that he didn't look as smug as he felt. That kiss had been everything and more. The only part about it he wished he'd could have changed was that he'd had to get the kiss looking like a human. That was something he could mull over later when he tried to figure out how to get her to see that he was the man with the ears she was guiltily pining over too. Right now, he wanted to commit the vision of her flushed face and kiss-swollen lips to memory.

"After that," he smiled, tracing her jawline delicately, "I don't know how long I'll be able to wait."


	5. Chapter 5

"You know one of these days it's going to be _me_ sitting behind that easel drawing _you_."

Kagome scoffed as she flipped to a clean page. Once again it was just the two of them in the classroom, though she suspected that they wouldn't be alone for much longer. While some of the students still continued to schlump in a minute before the tardy bell, some were showing up earlier. The teacher acted like she was glad that more had taken interest in the class, Kagome knew better. She suspected that Kikyo did too if the secret smiles aimed her way were a clue. Or maybe she'd seen the way that Kagome had been ogling the art model.

Oh shit.

Was that against school policy?

She didn't think she had done anything wrong. As far as Inuyasha had ever mentioned, it was strictly a volunteering thing. Come to think of it, what did he do with his days? She knew he worked, but he never elaborated. Then again, she wasn't very forthcoming with a lot of personal details either, and he didn't pry.

Kinda hard to pry for information when you have your tongue run down the person's throat.

She sure as hell wasn't going to complain about that.

Before she could retort that it'd be a cold day in hell, more students were filing in and throwing their bags around the room. Her thoughts of what she was about to say were quickly replaced with wanting to scream about how these morons were damaging their expensive-ass art supplies. Did they not know that each time the pencil was dropped the lead would shatter a little more within the pencil? Or that charcoal sticks could turn to dust quicker than half the universe in that superhero movie? Not to mention the little pots of ink were impossible to get out of fabric –

Then Inuyasha stepped out from behind the folding curtain and she forgot her internal rant. She'd nearly said "holy shit" out loud when he crossed the room and dropped into the seat next to hers. It was almost always vacant, so he'd claimed it when Kikyo was seated at her desk. After that, the others in the class tended to leave it be, assuming he'd verbally claimed it when they weren't present. If her brain had been able to focus properly, she might have seen the looks of envy on a few faces of her peers.

Inuyasha was only wearing the cloth wrap around his waist, and holy gods above did he ever present a sight.

Kagome bit the inside of her cheek as she stared at him, hoping it wasn't so obvious that she was staring and trying to look more disinterested in the stack of muscle sitting right next to her. He leaned back in the chair, almost slouching, making the wrap scoot upwards on his thighs an inch. Her eyes followed the fabric, wondering if he was wearing anything underneath the wrap and for once kind of hoping he was with the way his knees were parted. They moved upwards, watching the dips and curves of his abdomen rise and fall as he breathed, across the firm planes of his pectorals…and to the shit-eating grin framed with stubble.

He saw her looking.

Shit, he _knew_ she was looking!

"See something you like, sweetheart?" he whispered.

* * *

Even a week and a half later Inuyasha was still grinning like an idiot when he thought back to that first session where he was down to just the cloth wrap and how Kagome had reacted. The image of her blushing prettily, those soft lips opening and closing as she tried to find an excuse – it had been utterly delightful to reflect on. It got him through the days where his work hours drug or he had to deal with stupid delivery drivers and stock, but also at night when he was alone in his house.

A house he hadn't realized had been so big an empty before.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was gaining some semblance of a relationship with Kagome. His thoughts almost lead him into the idea that he was gaining her trust, but… as of now she saw them as two separate men. Where was the trust going to go when she knew the truth? Out the window, that's where. He was almost positive she'd want nothing to do with him once she knew. Even after fishing for her opinions and preferences of the "other man" as the "other man" he could anticipate how his heart was going to break when she declared that he needed to stay the hell away from her. The ache of knowing that when she came in to get her supplies she wouldn't seek him out. He wouldn't get to see her pretty smile or how her face would light up when he greeted her.

Dammit, he had to get her to see that she was talking to the same person! The question was _how_. Just how was he supposed to approach her and say "You know that model you've been drawing all semester? Yeah he's me. I've been taking some experimental drug to hide my half demon features and I didn't know that you were in this class but I've thought you were cute for years and didn't think you'd give me the time of the day if you knew the truth".

That…that wouldn't work at all.

He scowled, his good mood turned sour thanks to the logical side of his brain choosing to be "helpful". Once again it was mostly empty, save for the occasional student or faculty member dropping in to buy snacks that weren't available in the machines or too lazy to go to the dining hall. A good thing too, as the manager happened to walk by and jokingly told him to "perk up". The half demon rolled his eyes at the human that was too chipper for his own good sometimes.

Then again, of the two of them, his manager was more likely to get lucky at night.

That thought alone pissed him off and had him scowling again.

He had his suspicions that if he were to make an official claim for Kagome's hand in his human appearance, she wouldn't object – and therein lay his biggest issue. Only one day out of the month he could be entirely human, and that was only a handful of hours at night. The others he'd have to keep taking the suppression pills, and that was another set of problems. Dr. Mushin had never specified how long he could take them. It had only been an agreement between them for the duration of the semester for the modeling. Even Kikyo had expressed concerns about him taking the medicine, telling him to "grab the bull by the balls and just tell Kagome everything". Mushin wasn't even positive if they could be taken long term, so that eliminated any chance of taking them for the rest of his life.

"I gotta tell her the truth," he mumbled, ducking underneath the sales counter to retrieve another roll of receipt paper for the cash register.

"Tell who the truth?" a soft voice asked from the other side, making him yelp as he hit his head on the shelf.

"Kuh – uh…Higurashi!" Inuyasha damn near fucked up and called her by first name before he straightened up with the roll of paper in hand. "What brings you here today?"

Kagome gave him a skeptical look. "I wanted to pick up some extra pencils, maybe get some souvenirs to send home to my little brother before the end of term. Who do you need to tell the truth to?" she asked curiously, dropping her arms onto the edge of the counter and leaning forward. "Is there a girl you need to confess something to?"

The half demon rubbed his head and had to do a double take when he took in Kagome's appearance. Had he hit his head that hard or did she look differently today? Her hair fell around her shoulders in messy waves, framing the deep V-neck t-shirt she was wearing that fit her a little too well. His mouth went dry as he noticed the small silver chain that hung around her neck, dropping to lie just above the expanse of cleavage she was showing him.

It was a sight to behold and it had made his day a _hell_ of a lot better.

Kagome normally wore looser shirts and blouses, so he couldn't understand why…wait. Was she...?

"I…uh, yeah," he said, watching her face show a flicker of disappointment. "It's my brother's wife," he added quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "They just had twins a few months ago, and I might've told a white lie and said that they resembled my brother like she was wanting to hear."

Her expression looked surprised. "Oh? They don't?"

"Hell no," he laughed, "They look like her through and through. Same set you ablaze glare and all."

The way she joined him in laughter only added to his renewed good mood. He replaced the empty roll in the cash register and stepped around to join her, taking in the rest of her outfit. The jeans she wore…fuck they could have been painted on her the way they hugged her hips. The t-shirt stopped just short of the waist band, and he could glimpse a tiny sliver of skin that he was desperate to touch. This…was not helping his problem. At all. And she was doing her damndest to get a reaction out of him without stripping to her underwear. Although… he wouldn't have been against that – NO.

Focus. Work.

As he laid his hand against the small of her back, as he had developed a habit of doing, leading her to the art section. He knew he didn't have to walk with her over there, and she knew it too. She wanted his company, and if she didn't mind his touch, she would have shied away from him long before now. Yet she didn't; if anything, his ears picked up a tiny sigh of contentment when the pads of his fingers touched her back.

She was expecting his touch.

The urge to pull her into the stock room and get her to make more sounds like that was too tempting. It was the middle of the day, just before handfuls could come in during their lunch break. He was needed on the floor.

He wanted Kagome on the floor. Under him, preferably.

Fucking shit. Not good. Don't think like that!

She didn't "know" his name, so she couldn't murmur it to him right then even if he had the opportunity to get her alone. She didn't know that he was interested in her, and with only seeing her during his work hours it made it difficult to actually flirt when he wasn't looking human. But the biggest issue that was like a bucket of ice water over his libido was the fact that she didn't know the truth.

The half demon sighed as they reached the aisle with the pencils. Gods, he was in trouble. So much freaking trouble if he didn't think of a way to solve this where they wouldn't both be hurt in the end. She was like a precious gem to him and didn't deserve to be let down by another man.

* * *

Kagome flopped onto the couch with her pint of rum raisin ice cream and stared at the late night news without interest. The day hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped, and as it progressed it only seemed to get suckier.

The morning had been decent enough, considering the end of term was approaching and the last of her core classes for her degree was gearing up for finals. The ones geared towards her degree itself weren't due for that for another week. She hoped that Kikyo remembered that they would have a final coming up for the class. She'd heard some of the other students giggling about the syllabus but had never cared enough to remember to look at it to see what was so funny. Perhaps just a typo, knowing Kikyo.

Lunch had been uneventful, as always. She went to the dining hall and ordered a chicken tender plate with fries, found a seat and ate by herself. A mini sketchbook sat next to her to doodle on until she had to cross the campus to her next class. Only this time, she didn't even open it before she was stuffing it back in her bag, collecting her trash and heading to the entryway. Her feet led her to the bookstore, and she actually had a decent enough excuse for stopping in. With the approach of the end of term, she wanted to make sure she had enough pencils to get her through finals, and she did want to get a few college items for Souta to send home. She wasn't sure if she could swing making the journey back home for the holidays, and with her expenses for the apartment she was most likely going to be video-chatting with them instead.

Then she had stepped into the bookstore and seen the silver haired half demon duck behind the counter. She'd heard him mumbling something about telling a girl the truth, and her stomach dropped. Was he involved with a woman already? That would freaking figure, even if Inuyasha had told her that he was giving the guy the opportunity to take a chance before he missed it. If he was already in a relationship, then why did she feel upset about that, when Inuyasha was giving her a _choice_.

Maybe it was because she'd felt like she was putting herself on display by wearing her most revealing V-neck and low rise jeans today. She'd seen the look in his eyes when he really noticed her attire, and she thought he liked what he saw. So when his fingers brushed against the exposed skin of her back, she'd wanted to melt into his side.

And that had been it. He hadn't made any other indication of his interest in her, though she could swear that he was glancing at her more than once when she bent over to read the labels. She'd definitely heard a sound come from his direction, so maybe he was just shy about it? He'd told her that mumbling had been about his sister-in-law's kids, which wasn't out of the blue. He'd talked about them in passing with her before, but the way he tacked it on had her wondering if he'd done it to assure her that he was single.

She groaned, sinking further into the cushions, gripping the pint with increasingly cold fingers. Why was this so confusing! There was a man who had expressed deliberate interest in her, and she was trying to gauge if the half demon she had been smitten with for years could reciprocate. She felt like scum, no matter how much Inuyasha was understanding. He knew that she was crushing on the half demon, he knew that she had it bad for him, and he was _still_ giving her an opening.

The evening hadn't gotten any better. She left the bookstore with her purchases, continued on through her classes, and as usual, Inuyasha was waiting to walk her to her final class. Kagome had thought she was doing a good job of hiding her disappointment with the day, because he hadn't mentioned anything about it. At least, not until he got behind the wheel of his truck. He'd asked if everything was okay, and before she could stop herself she was recounting the day's events to him on the drive home. Inuyasha had listened to her silently, letting her get out her frustrations and sadness, then took her hand in his free one and gave it a squeeze.

Her heart melted with that one little touch.

He hadn't told her that things would get better the next day. Hadn't offered false words of hope. Hadn't fed her some line about if she ever needed a shoulder he was there. He didn't need to say anything; that gesture said it all.

She hadn't let go of his hand until she slid out of the truck, and then it was taken up in his once more as they took the stairs to her apartment. It was one of those nights where they didn't speak much on the trek, and that was fine with her. She'd unloaded enough on the drive home as it was. He'd taken her in his arms as they stopped in front of the door, holding her tight against his chest. After drawing him bare chested for almost two weeks, knowing how buff he was underneath his clothes made her want to never leave that spot.

He really did give good hugs.

And goodnight kisses.

Very, very good goodnight kisses.

Toe-curling kisses.

Kisses that had her blurting out if he wanted to come inside for a bit before he went home.

The noise…that groan that came from his chest…it had made her shiver, and not because she was still pressed against him and could feel the vibration. The look in his eyes as he told her that he couldn't made her insides squirm.

" _Trust me sweetheart," he purred, brushing his thumb across her bottom lip, "if I were to step inside your apartment tonight I wouldn't be leaving until the morning."_

Her libido, if it could have made a sound, would have squealed in that moment.

Like a dumbass, she'd asked why not. She knew why not. He knew why not. They weren't established, and that was a huge fucking leap to take, even if her girly bits were screaming to not let him leave. She had to though, and if she felt gutted at their separation, his face echoed her thoughts. He didn't want to leave either, but she knew he would, if only to give her heart a chance at being happy. She watched from her open doorway as he returned to his truck, then locked it with a choked sob.

Why was this so hard?!

She'd bumped her head against the door a few times, angry at herself for all the things. She could make a decision. She could get the truth out of the half demon if she actually tried, she was sure of it. Kagome had wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and went to the kitchen for that ice cream.

Now, as she slouched and tucked into her frozen comfort, she knew she had to do something. The end of term was approaching quick, and not only would she not see the half demon until the start of the next term, but she didn't know if she'd ever see Inuyasha again. Not if she didn't make a decision.


	6. Chapter 6

"Have you told her the truth yet, Inuyasha?"

Silence, then "I'm working on it."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed at the collection of sketches in her hand, though her irritation was directed elsewhere. The half demon had taken to hiding out in her classroom during his time off work and in between his own classes. He'd made the excuse that he could assist her, but she'd wager her favorite kitchen knives that he was drawn to the room because of Kagome's scent. Not that she knew anything about the scent he could pick up, though she had to admit the younger woman had good taste in perfume… She slapped the stack of papers on her desk, making the half demon in her seat jump. "If you were working on it you wouldn't be hiding in my classroom."

"You know you don't give off that huffy vibe but boy when it comes out –"

"Inuyasha," she warned.

"I'm just saying that you'd make a hell of a high school teacher if you ever got tired of being on tenure and wanted a switch."

"Stop changing the subject and explain why you haven't talked to Kagome outside of the bookstore. Or the classroom."

"We _do_ talk outside of class," he grinned. "Or well…we _start_ talking. Never lasts long…"

"I don't need to hear those details." Kikyo frowned as he reclined in her seat. Having had enough, she marched around the desk and began to swat at him with an empty folder she'd left on the desk until he vacated her seat. "We're coming up on the end of term. Next week is when I'm required to start giving the final exam. After that, you may be out of an opportunity to speak with her. She's likely to return home for the holidays, and you won't see her again until next semester."

He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "I know that," he muttered.

"You can't keep delaying this. If she learns about your dual identity from anyone else besides you, she's going to be hurt. More that it didn't come from you than the truth, I think."

"I know that," he repeated. "How…how am I supposed to even begin to explain this, Kikyo? I can't just tell her that I'm a chicken shit who's watched her for years and only had the balls to take a chance when I signed on for an experimental drug to look human."

The older woman looked thoughtful. "Actually, you could. Hear me out – all you need to do is say that, but not so bluntly. Tell her that you're attracted to her and have been since you first met, but because you're a half demon you feared she wouldn't be interested. You had no idea that she would be in this class when you made that agreement with me to model for the semester, and the drug was initially to keep your identity anonymous. That she was here was pure coincidence and played in your favor to garner her attentions."

Inuyasha looked surprised. "Holy shit, that was…"

"Impressive?"

"Yeah!"

Kikyo shrugged with a sly smile. "I have my moments. It also helps that I look unassuming, so no one expects me to unload on them when the situation calls for it."

He snorted. This instructor was something else. "Alright, so if I tell her all that, how do I manage to do that when I'm _not_ at work and _not_ taking the drug?"

"You're not in the bookstore now, are you?"

"No."

"There's your answer."

"Kagome's in class."

"Then wait until she's in between classes. Try the dining hall one day. Surely you can take an hour off for lunch?"

"Meh…maybe." Inuyasha scratched at the stubble on his chin. "If the boss is fine with it maybe next week."

Kikyo reached across the desk for her forgotten stack of papers and began to flip through them. She had to get some grading done sometime today, and she did not want to have to take it home again over the weekend. "Real good," she said absently. "Decide to spill the beans the week that your own beans are going to be on display for her evaluation."

"…Fuck."

* * *

Kagome's mood hadn't improved since she'd made a fool of herself the other day. Now it was the last regular week of classes, and she was dreading it on multiple levels. Where the week after it would be filled with students taking finals, all of her classes had done taken care of that, so it was an empty week in her schedule. She did her budgeting over the weekend and came to the conclusion that there was no way she could maintain the rent on the apartment and be able to travel home for the holidays. She couldn't ask her family for the funds to collect her and bring her back, they were already on a tighter than normal budget with her brother breaking his arm in a soccer game. She'd hated having to tell her mother that she couldn't come home, because they both knew that video chatting wouldn't be the same.

Especially when she was sitting in her apartment by herself.

Inuyasha still hadn't moved forward, and that was because he was waiting for her answer. He wanted her to get her answer from the half demon so she could decide for herself. If the half demon returned her feelings, he'd told her, then he would step away. That thought made her want to cry. She didn't want to lose him, but she also didn't feel like she could go further until she knew where the half demon stood either. She didn't want Inuyasha to feel like she was settling for him.

If she could get a yes or no response from the half demon it would have been one thing, but each time she approached him in the bookstore, there wasn't time to talk. Students were coming in to return textbooks or buy last-minute study materials, and he was swamped with processing those. The best she could get was when she needed him to help her reach things, and even then their conversations were shorter than either would have liked.

And here it was, Monday again. Mondays normally sucked on principle for one reason or another, but when a final was scheduled on a Monday it was even more depressing. At least it was in the last class of the day, and it was a class she enjoyed – besides the fact that she'd get to see Inuyasha. Did it make her a horrible student that she'd _never_ looked at this class' syllabus to see what the final would entail?

Kagome poked at her lunch, not sure if she was hungry anymore. She had to get an answer out of the half demon somehow, had to know what he thought about her. Sure, she had Inuyasha's number, but what would happen after this semester if she couldn't give him an answer? Would he move on? Given the way things between them had progressed, she felt it was unlikely, but…with her track record she couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

"Hey! Kagome!"

Her head snapped up and looked around the dining hall. Who was that? No one ever called out to her, but it sounded like…Inuyasha? It couldn't be, she wouldn't see him until later in the day. Then her eyes caught a shock of silver hair and fuzzy ears. It was the half demon from the bookstore! She waved him over to her table, pushing aside her sketchbook to make room for his lunch. "Hey," she smiled, "I didn't expect to see you today. Did your boss let you out long enough to eat?"

The half demon grinned at her. "In my defense I was going to work through the lunch hour, but he said my stomach would frighten the customers."

"Oh wow. That must have been intense."

Inuyasha had started to say that he'd gone for longer without eating, but was more concerned with why she wasn't eating and asked about that instead. Her scent was…down. Sad. Frustrated. He knew why, and it made him feel like an ass.

"Just bummed is all," she replied. When he wouldn't take that as a satisfactory answer, she told him her frustrations about not being able to get home. About how the art model was too patient to even be real, but stopped herself before she blurted out that if she knew what _he_ thought about _her_ it would solve a lot of problems.

Inuyasha felt like even more of an ass. She was going to be alone over the winter break? In that apartment by herself? Then she'd started talking about the model, and he knew she was on the edge of saying something else. The way her mouth formed an "o" and the blush that began to rise up could only mean she'd been about to bring up her attraction to him. His heart had seized, hoping this wasn't the time to discuss it. He really didn't want to do this in the dining hall, even if they were away from the majority of people.

She'd shook her head moments after, saying it was nothing, then started to eat her lunch. He followed suit, trying to interject small talk between bites. It was an enjoyable lunch, and the longer he sat there he was kicking himself that he hadn't thought to do this before. Kagome appeared to enjoy his presence as well, even commenting that she normally didn't have lunch companions.

"Guess I'll have to see if I can time my lunch break to match yours next semester," he grinned. The flushed expression was worth the risk. "That is, if your art model guy doesn't mind me taking your time?"

"I…he's not…I mean…we haven't…we're not…" she sighed, dropping her chin onto her hand. "We're…I don't know what Inuyasha and I are. He…I know he wants more, but he wants me to make the call, and…" Kagome blushed down to her shirt collar as she realized she was talking about the half demon _to_ the half demon. "…I'm unsure of how the other guy that I've had a crush on for years feels about me."

Inuyasha bit down on the inside of his cheek. "You like them both equally?"

The small nod she gave made him want to grin like an idiot. He couldn't, not without her asking questions that could lead to the talk they weren't ready to have. Still…what was to say that he couldn't nudge her in the direction of the talk they were due? Would that be a bad thing? She looked and smelled so down that his phone buzzing in his back pocket almost had him slinging it across the room. He did not need this now.

"You being called back to work?"

Dammit, why did his boss have to text him now of all times?! "Yeah," he replied, swiping the notification on the screen. "Last batch of stock came in and he wants to get it shelved as soon as we can so we're not losing our break getting it sorted." Inuyasha stood slowly collecting the remains of his lunch as Kagome rose as well. "I have a few minutes to spare," he offered, "Want me to walk with you to your next class?" God, was that coming on too strong? He'd only walked her to class looking human; would she still want his company –

"O-oh, that…that'd be nice, thank you."

Oh yeah, he was a fucking goner if he hadn't been years ago.

She'd tossed her trash and shouldered her bag, keeping in stride with him as they left the dining hall. He had to be careful and not get ahead of her as they walked across the courtyard to the class before her final one of the day. His hand had crept out to brush against her back, and he could swear she'd actually started to lean into him. "This other guy you like," he murmured, "what sets him apart from this model you're so into?"

He hadn't expected her to answer, but she let out a soft hum before she said "Actually, I don't think there's anything that sets them apart other than how they look. His hair is lighter…much lighter…and…his ears…" Kagome's face flushed and she ducked her head down as their steps slowed as they reached the building her next class was in.

"Ears, huh?" he chuckled, turning her to face him. This was too good, and it was probably really poor planning on his part but he knew he had to take this opportunity. Inuyasha gently lifted her chin up so she could meet his gaze as he leaned forward. "They wouldn't happen to be _furry_ ears, would they?"

Kagome gasped. Oh god. How did he know? Did Inuyasha tell him? Maybe…maybe it was just a ruse. Maybe he assumed she was referring to another half demon with light hair and fuzzy ears somewhere on campus. Not that she _knew_ of another half demon with fuzzy ears.

"You never know, Kagome," he whispered huskily, "Things you think are different could be one and the same." Before she could respond, and before he lost his nerve, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers in a quick kiss. "I'll see you around the bookstore," he added a bit hoarsely as he stepped away.

As soon as he got back to the bookstore he was kicking his boss's ass. She'd actually begun to kiss him back before he pulled away from her.

Fucking. Hell.

* * *

Kagome was fortunate that the class before her last one was essentially a cakewalk, because she hadn't been able to focus properly on the work at all. Not after that late lunch. Or the talk with the cute half demon.

Or that kiss.

He'd kissed her. Actually _kissed_ her.

It hadn't been the same as that first kiss she shared with Inuyasha, but they were in the open on campus. He hadn't wanted to make a spectacle, but it was just enough to have her kissing him back before it ended. All she had been able to concentrate on was how his lips had felt against hers. It was…familiar.

Then there was the matter of him using her name, not once but twice. It was something she'd asked Inuyasha about as soon as she met him outside the classroom later.

"Me? No, I never told him your name. You didn't?"

Kagome shook her head as she walked alongside him. He reached out and slipped his hand within hers, giving it a squeeze. "No, and that's what's so weird. I've talked to him since I started school here, and that's the first time he's ever said my name before."

"This is good though, isn't it?" He held the door to the building open and let her pass through first. "You know that he likes you now, right?" He managed to kiss her as his normal self, so why didn't she look happier? Had she not gotten his clue?

Dammit, he was going to have to get creative.

Kagome was too busy mulling over earlier in the day to notice when he had let go of her hand to step behind the changing curtain. She set her bag down and began to remove her tin of pencils when she heard voices enter the classroom.

That was…weird. She checked the clock, and sure enough it was five minutes before the first bell were to go off, and already half of the remaining students in the class were filing in. Was it because it was finals week? And what was with the _giggling_? She'd never heard so much giggling as she had the last couple class meetings. It was starting to grate on her nerves to the point where she was debating asking just what the hell was so funny.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Kikyo said, walking into the room and closing the door. Something that Kagome found strange, as she _never_ shut the door before then.

Was this a written test? Oh shit she hadn't prepared for that at all. Wait, why were people staring at her? Did she have something on her shirt? Did she drop something? Kagome surreptitiously looked around her to make sure she hadn't gotten a stain from lunch when her eyes landed on Inuyasha sitting down in the chair next to her. He wasn't wearing the wrap that he'd worn in the last few classes, at least not that she could tell. It was kind of hard to see anything past the black satin dressing gown he had pulled around him and belted at the waist.

"This is your final week with me, and for your last three assignments we're going to pull everything you've practiced this semester together into three pieces. You'll have only this class to complete each piece. When you come in on Wednesday you'll only focus on the second, and the third for Friday. You will need to focus on your attention to detail, as any mistakes you make will be noticeable." She waved at Inuyasha to stand up and come to the middle of the room.

Kagome began to get nervous when he held tight to the belt of that dressing gown. It's like he was trying to keep it closed for as long as possible…

"Today I want you to demonstrate your knowledge of contrapposto. Can anyone tell me what that means? Come now, I'm sure you remember hearing this in high school, surely."

"It's Italian for 'counterpoise'," Kagome said, when it was apparent that no one else would. "In visual arts it means the figure doesn't stand completely straight. Weight is put on one leg while the shoulders and arms are counter balanced. It allows the figure to appear in motion while stationary, and to many critics the minimal shift has an…attractiveness that draws the eye over a fully static stance."

Inuyasha was grinning widely as she explained, and a glance over at Kikyo proved that she was delighted with the answer. "That's a very good explanation, Kagome! Very well done!" She motioned to Inuyasha and continued. "As Miss Higurashi so thoroughly explained, this is your first assignment. When our model is ready to remove his robe and get into position, you will begin. You will draw the angle from your seat. Do not get up and move."

' _Remove his robe? Inuyasha, what are yo- OH MY FUCKING GOD!'_

Inuyasha was naked.

Very, very naked. Naked as the day he was born naked. There was no cloth, no sock, not even a smiley face sticker over the tip. He was completely bare, letting everything hang out, and he was staring right at her.

Kagome had seen naked men before. Not so close in person, but she had seen her fair share of bare asses in sex scenes in the movies. For him to be standing just a few feet away…watching her…she was positive her brain had stopped functioning. She knew she was blushing. Even other students that she could see in her peripheral were blushing. A couple of the men in class could be heard coughing into their hand, and she was certain she heard "lucky bastard" come from one of them.

He was indeed very…lucky. _'And…cut. Oh my, he's…yeah he's definitely cut…'_

She'd drawn male anatomy before, so it wasn't like it was anything new to her. Of course with her limited experience it had been from expensive art books she'd collected years ago. Still – it was _right there_ and she was having a really hard time looking away. She'd decided long ago that if she were given the choice of which to draw, she'd prefer what she was looking at right then. Any time she ever drew one uncut she spent the majority of her time doubting that she had drawn it right.

It looked weird to her, okay? Some things were just better streamlined.

Kikyo had asked Inuyasha if it was warm enough in the room for him as he tossed the robe onto the empty chair beside Kagome, jolting her from her thoughts. _'Right. Pick up your pencil, Kagome. You can think about how hung he is later. Much later. Alone later.'_ She had begun adding light strokes with her HB pencil across the paper before he had even gotten into a comfortable position. She knew the contrapposto well enough, so it wasn't difficult to frame the proportions out ahead of time.

If she had seen the dark looks other students were giving her that Inuyasha had, she might've stopped and waited. He'd had to resist grinning when she tapped into her artist brain and started sketching before he'd even gotten settled. With how she had answered Kikyo's question, he knew she knew her stuff, and he was so proud of how she answered with such confidence. He liked to see that side of her come out. In a way, it made him feel better about standing before almost a dozen of his peers – not that they had figured out he was a student, thank god – buck ass naked for the next hour and a half.

And there were two more days where he had to do this.

Shit.

He had almost backed out the week before. The idea of Kagome seeing him naked was something he hadn't minded, but honestly? He'd have rather she gotten to see all of him when they were alone. Preferably at his place. And when he wasn't in disguise as a human. _'Nothing to be done about it now,'_ he thought to himself. She was getting a good look at all of him now. Inuyasha had been more nervous than he'd even let Kikyo know about doing this, and it was the first minutes after removing his robe that had been his biggest fear.

Would Kagome approve of him?

Granted, this worry wasn't something he _should_ have been worried about. The room being too cold would have been more substantial, but thankfully as a half demon his body temperature ran higher so that was the least of his problems. He was worried about what she'd think of him. Would his appearance startle her? Would she be repulsed?

Clearly not, as her expression proved. Oh she had been surprised alright, but he had to figure that was more to do with his _being_ naked more than him exactly. Once the realization had kicked in…that's when she started to actually _see_ him and every signal she was giving off indicated she was very pleased with what she saw. It was subtle, but he could tell her scent had changed for the better. So when she picked up her pencil and began to sketch, he was equally proud and relieved. The last thing anyone needed this week was for him to get a raging hard on because he could smell how much Kagome liked what she saw of him.

* * *

"So…" Inuyasha began as he sat down on the covered seat. "How's finals coming along?"

He'd been able to engage the other students in conversation the first night, but it had taken some doing. Once they had relaxed and accepted that they were supposed to draw the naked man before them, it had become a little easier to talk. It was like everyone was back on page one at the start of the semester again on Monday night. With Wednesday's meeting, he'd decided that he was going to sit. Kikyo had even gone so far as to suggest for the added challenge to shift around slightly to ensure that her stragglers would draw more than just his manhood.

Inuyasha wasn't sure if he was more embarrassed or amused that of ten people – not counting Kagome's piece – there were four students who had done a bare bones outline of his figure but spent most of the time focused on his cock. Kikyo hadn't been as amused, given that these were grown adults that should be capable of drawing the human body without issue. When she said point blank that she'd have to dock points for the overall composition, he'd suggested giving them partial credit for the important bits that they did get done.

She'd chased him out of the classroom and told him to go to work after that.

As the students around him offered some gripes and complaints about the end of term, his gaze was focused on the silent woman across from him. Kagome was all but avoiding making eye contact unless she absolutely had to, and it had nothing to do with him being naked. The half demon let out a small sigh through his nose. She'd been acting strange ever since….shit, ever since Monday…when he had kissed her as the half demon. He thought that dropping the hint would have made _something_ in her mind go off and connect the two dots, but all that move seemed to do was make her sad. She still thought they were two different people that she had to choose between. He'd tried to tell her again as he drove her home each night that he wanted her to be happy, but apparently that made things worse.

He was going to find some way to fix this, if he had to wait until after Friday's last class meeting to do it.

She'd come into the bookstore earlier that morning to speak with him, but he'd barely gotten a handful of words out to her with the rush of students returning rental books. He couldn't blame them – the sociology majors especially – for wanting to return the books they'd rented months ago. Fucking instructor had decided a month into class that he was building his own syllabus that didn't require the book. He'd processed a lot of returns of the book still in the shrink wrap. When he'd looked up again, she'd left, and his heart had sunk.

Now here she was, perched behind her easel, hiding from him. Occasionally she'd lean around it to commit his image to memory then duck behind it again and _scratch – scratch – scratch_ the pencil would go. Inuyasha wanted to growl, anything to get her attention. To just…look at him. Say something to him. He knew she was working and that didn't bother him. He wanted her to work, to do well and end the class with good grades. That wasn't the issue.

It was her ignoring him.

"How ya doing over there, Ka-go-me?" he asked, moving his left leg just a bit away from the other. He made the movement loud enough for her to look around and see that he had spaced his knees shoulder-width apart. It had the added effect of hearing some students around him mutter curses and reach for their erasers.

"I'm managing," she replied stiffly. Why he had to sit _facing her_ she had no idea. On second thought, she had a pretty good idea, but really. Spreading his legs further apart didn't help her concentration, because now he was just blatantly framing himself as he watched her. And she knew he was watching her, even when her eyes were focused on the easel in front of her. She could feel those dark eyes staring at her, waiting for her to look at him.

"Been so quiet I thought you were having trouble." Might as well mess with her. "Something on your mind?"

If looks could kill, he would have been sprawled out on the floor then.

"You know exactly what's bothering me," came the clipped response.

Kagome wanted to be feisty tonight, did she? That was fine with him. All it did was make him grin and lean forward, resting his hands on his bent knees. _That_ made quite a few students cuss out loud and he chuckled, still focused on the spitfire that was shooting him a dark look. "Come on now, the answer is right in front of you. You just have to look a little harder."

"I've been looking plenty and I still don't see the solution."

"Maybe it needs to be wrapped in a bow? Presented with ceremony?"

She scoffed. "I really don't see how this could be wrapped in a bow."

"Why not?" Inuyasha grinned wider. "A big red ribbon with a tag tied to it that says who it's for and who it's from."

The scratching from behind her easel stopped and the sudden snap had his eyes widening. Kagome remained calm as she deposited the broken pencil pieces into her tin and retrieved a spare, turning back to her work without giving him a second look.

* * *

Friday had been a whirlwind for Inuyasha, and he only hoped that Kagome was faring better than he was. Finals had been done since the day before for all of his classes, which was good because his work schedule had been doubled because one of the other students actually forgot that they had their final today. He'd gotten to take lunch off at least, but he hadn't been able to find Kagome to dine with her. Just as well – it was later than she normally ate and with how she'd been acting all week it might be better to talk to her after the last class. He'd gotten his meal to go and planned to take it back to the bookstore and just eat behind the counter when Kikyo intercepted him, looking frazzled more now than he'd ever seen her.

"I need your help."

Those four words may as well have been the incantation to opening a portal and dropping him into another universe, because as he inhaled his food on the walk over to the building he could not have predicted the situation that he would put himself in. Kikyo's normally straight hair was looking a little frizzy, or maybe it was curly? Now that he thought about it he wouldn't be surprised if she used a flat iron to smooth it out. Her clothes – where she normally wore a flouncy blouse and skirt or loose pants – was replaced with a t-shirt and worn jeans. She looked more like she was going to be moving furniture than administering a final exam.

Kikyo led him – damn he didn't know she could walk that quick – to the classroom where all of the student chairs and easels were moved to the furthest walls. In the middle of the floor where his covered chair was the other night sat a box. A big box, with no identifiable information as to the nature of it's contents. As soon as he got inside she closed the door, which only added to his suspicions.

"Am I just fattening myself up for slaughter?"

"Don't be dramatic, Inuyasha."

"I ain't being dramatic! You tell me you need help, you bring me here at the speed of a damn gazelle, and you only ever shut that door when I drop trough. Now there's a big ass box sitting here in the middle of the room that I'm pretty sure I could fit my ass in. So yeah, Kikyo I have questions."

Her face scrunched up in a manner similar to the look that Kagome had given him on Wednesday night and Inuyasha decided that he liked the look much better on Kagome. On Kikyo it didn't sit right. There wasn't the passion there that Kagome had…then again he didn't want to pin Kikyo against her apartment door and drive her wild either. "I was given grant money at the start of term to make sure I had the supplies I needed for the year, and with our current arrangement, I needed to purchase a new piece of furniture. I didn't think you'd want to put your bare ass on the cold floor."

"I appreciate your concern for my ass."

"Anyway," she ground out, "the delivery came today, as you can see, but I wasn't available when it was dropped off. I went to the bookstore hoping I could catch you, but Suikotsu said that you were taking your lunch break. I need your help getting it assembled."

Inuyasha wanted to comment that he was spending his lunch break putting this – whatever this was together – just to sit in it later while she watched most likely. He polished off his lunch and dropped the trash in the garbage can by her desk. Had to be better than spending his time standing around in the bookstore until it was time to go get Kagome. He swore under his breath, digging in his pockets for the last two capsules. Dr. Mushin had told him to take them after eating so the effects would last the longest, and well…since it was a late lunch he wouldn't have time to go home to eat before having to come back to get Kagome.

He missed the perplexed look Kikyo shot him as he dry swallowed the pills, looking between him and the clock on the wall.

Inuyasha used his claws to break the packing tape on the box as Kikyo reached for the open flaps, pulling them back to reveal something large, leather-looking, and black wrapped in plastic surrounded by packing peanuts. "I don't think you have to worry about assembling it," he remarked. "This thing looks like it's in one piece."

"Oh well that's even better. You can test it out and see how it feels before later and save some time."

There had been a moment when he debated on removing it from the box and going back to work, but if she'd approached his boss for his help, that meant he could take all the time he needed to, right? Maybe it took longer than they thought and he used up the last of his shift? Suikotsu was understanding, and it wasn't like it was just the two of them on the floor today anyway. That kid he filled in for that morning would be coming back in to finish up, so essentially he had a free pass. The half demon shrugged and continued to split the box down its sides. Packing peanuts scattered, which Kikyo began to sweep out of the way, as he lifted the piece of furniture and set it upright on the floor.

At least, he _thought_ it was upright as he ripped the plastic covering away. It had this strange curve to it with a steep dip in the middle. How this was supposed to be comfortable was beyond him. There was a headrest, but he still didn't see how that would be good for his back if he had to sit in this for nearly two hours. Bunching up the plastic to trash he caught sight of a slip of paper that had fallen at his feet.

Turning it over his eyebrows nearly hit his hairline. What he assumed would be care instructions was actually a set of diagrams.

Oh shit.

He coughed. "You sure you picked this out?"

"Of course I did."

' _Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Whatever you do, don't laugh.'_ "What uh…what was the name of this… _recliner_ …exactly?"

Kikyo dumped the last of the packing peanuts in the trash and frowned at him. "On the website it was listed as a "sunning chair". Why? And what's with that face? You look like you're about to do more than just fart."

"A sunning chair," he repeated. "Yeah I imagine you could use this outside. Have to have a good tall fence though."

"Inuyasha! What is it!"

Instead of saying, he held out the piece of paper to her, watching her expression. She looked suspiciously at him until she glanced down at the paper – then she shrieked. " _Oh my god_!"

"Yeah that would get the desired effect."

"This is not what the website said it was for!"

"I mean it could pass as a fancy chaise lounger."

"Inuyasha what am I gonna do!" she shrieked again. Now she was pacing in front of her desk and shaking the paper. "When I purchased this I was going to take it home with me after the end of the semester to get it out of the way!"

"You mean after my bare ass has been in it? I hope you intend on washing it –"

"I can't take it home with me now! My younger sister lives with me! I can't take a _sex couch_ home with me! It took so damned long to ship here the window for returning it is long since passed – and they damn sure won't take it back once your ass has been all over it!"

"Hey!"

"You were the one cracking jokes a minute ago. Don't start getting offended now," Kikyo pointed out. A second later, realization had dawned on her and the grin she wore was frightening. "You have a house."

"…I do."

Kikyo strolled forward and slapped the slightly wrinkled piece of paper against his chest, grinning widely. "Congratulations Inuyasha. You have a new piece of furniture, and you won't have to lay a cover over it tonight if you don't want to! You did bring your truck, right? It should load into the back no problem. Good thing that it's not going to rain until next week…"

"Woah woah woah!" the half demon was sure he'd heard wrong. "You bought this with _grant money_. You can't just _give_ it to me."

She turned, walking back to her desk. "I can and did," she said, feeling more relaxed now that the problem was solved. "You agreed to help as my model this semester as a volunteer. There was no contract to designate any form of payment beforehand. It was bought for your use, so it's only fitting that you should be given it in compensation for your time."

Inuyasha's mouth opened and closed a few times, but he couldn't find words to counter her point. His eyes narrowed at the older woman who sat behind her desk looking entirely too pleased with herself. "I don't know how the hell you and Kagome do it, but you two must have some kind of psychic connection that allows you to back me into a corner like that. You two are the only two women I know of outside of my own damn family that can pull that shit. It ain't natural. Or fair."

"Speaking of," she said, reaching for her ungraded work and a pen. "When do you intend to tell Kagome the truth?"

"Tonight. After class is over."

* * *

Kagome couldn't place it, but there was something decidedly off about that lounger that Inuyasha was draped across. He was reclining on his left side, arm bent against the headrest cradling his chin. The right leg was bent at the knee while the other lay stretched out. Or as stretched out as was possible, given the drastic plunge of in the middle. What the hell was wrong with this lounger?

Unlike Wednesday, Inuyasha wasn't moving around as much. At best he'd adjust the arm he was leaning against or a leg, but it was minimal in comparison to the shitstorm he'd caused in the last class meeting. Kikyo had to remind him to not move _so much_ because these students – while she was disappointed with their subpar performance – still needed to be graded on this last assignment. Once he'd gotten over his laughing fit and accepted that he now had a lounger he'd have to cart home, the dread of going home had hit him, making that grease pit of food in his stomach sit like a rock. He felt pretty confident as he went to get Kagome and walk with her to class, even up to the point where he stripped down behind the folding screen and later pulled off the robe to get comfortable on his new…couch. What kind of wine was Kikyo drinking the night she'd picked this thing out anyway? The shipping label had come from out of the country, so no wonder it had taken so damn long to get there. What amazed him was that none of the faculty had asked her about the large box that had been hauled across the courtyard.

Then again it was college and even some of the instructors didn't give two shits about dressing up for work on a Friday so it wasn't impossible to believe that it was overlooked.

He sighed lightly, breaking his gaze away from Kagome's spot to look at the clock. They had twenty minutes left, give or take, and he'd have to tell her the truth. Twenty minutes to figure out how to tell her that she had no reason to be sad about having to choose, because she was getting both. Maybe if he told her to be angry with him for holding onto this secret so long, would that keep her from crying? She hadn't cried in front of him, but he had smelled the trace of tears a few times. That had been like a knife in his chest.

' _Fuck I need a distraction,'_ he thought, flexing his bent leg before returning it to it's position. "You guys have any big plans over break?" he asked the room, hoping to build up some conversation. There had been murmurs of "yes" and "kind of", with some students talking about going home. Some would be going out of town to visit other family they normally didn't get to visit. A couple were actually going to be getting on flights that evening to go around the world for the holiday break and wouldn't return until the start of the new year.

It was when he asked Kagome what her plans were that he instantly regretted it. The scent of sadness basically permeated the room, and in that moment he'd have rather tried to conceal a boner in front of everyone than make her upset.

"I won't be able to make it home for the holidays," she said in a flat tone. When one of the students to her left asked how come, she'd explained about how her budget was tight and with her brother's broken arm taking precedence, it was easier if she stayed in her apartment.

"That's a shame," the girl who had asked her replied. "I get that. Luckily my boyfriend is coming in from out of town so I won't be alone this Christmas. But you'll still get to "see" them in video chat, like you said. That's not the same, but it's not as bad as not having that ability at least."

Inuyasha couldn't see Kagome's expression, but the whiff of anger and jealousy that hit his nostrils as the younger girl talked told him everything. _'Shit girl. Back down. You don't know what you're getting into…'_ If Kagome could snap a pencil one handed he wouldn't put it past her to use it as a weapon.

"I'll be fine," Kagome said, as the scratching on the easel increased and the easel legs began to shake. "I've gotten on by myself well enough so far. I can do it again."

The subject had changed to television midseason finales after that. It was safer ground.

When Kikyo had called for everyone to put their pencils down, Inuyasha hadn't hesitated to sit up and reach for his robe. As usual, he'd wait until most of the class had left before ducking behind the folding screen to get dressed again. Everyone in the class had gotten a free show for three nights, and he was only interested in letting one of them get a repeat performance. She, it seemed, looked as if she wanted to fold into herself the more empty the room became.

Kikyo arranged the stack of artwork into a neat pile on her desk before she began the search for her purse. She'd become used to Kagome hanging back, and when Inuyasha had explained to her that he was driving her home it made a lot more sense. "It's been a pleasure having you in my class, Kagome," she smiled, straightening and shouldering her purse at last. "I've greatly enjoyed having someone with talent such as yours embrace each of your assignments. It's what makes teaching so worthwhile. I do hope you have an enjoyable holiday."

"She will," Inuyasha said as he stepped out from behind the folding screen. When Kagome shot him a quizzical look he scoffed. "Like I'd let you spend the holidays by yourself!"

"You have family –"

"Yeah a brother that I terrorize by buying my twin nieces the most obnoxious toys imaginable. They're going to be out of town and won't be around to annoy. We'll be alone together."

As much as Kagome wanted to frown, his cheeky grin was infectious and she felt her own lips curling upwards at the corners.

Kikyo clapped her hands in delight, and to Kagome it was like she was on a whole other wavelength with the wide smile she was sporting herself. "Now that that's settled," she beamed. "Inuyasha, do you need help getting this to your truck? I'm sure that I could catch Renkotsu and borrow one of his dollies if you need it…"

Kagome's eyes shot from her instructor to the man beside her. What was her instructor talking about?

He blew a raspberry at the mention of the janitor. "No need, I can get it. S'not that heavy anyway. If Kagome can spot me, I'll be golden."

"Wait…what?"

"Excellent, then I shall leave you two to it! Thank you again for your services, Inuyasha!" With her computer tucked under her arm and her purse, Kikyo was all but gone in seconds.

A beat had passed before Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha. "What…was that about?"

"Yeah…so, I might need your help."

"With this… _couch_?"

"Uh huh," he coughed, scratching the back of his neck. "Turns out Kikyo ordered it and it's…too big for her place…so she offered it to me for the modeling."

Kagome crossed her arms and tried not to grin at how red his face was turning. She _knew_ there was something off about this lounger and his blushing was only confirming it. Of course she knew that such things _were_ a thing, but she'd never seen one in person before. Tilting her head to study it, Kagome had to admit that it was more subtle than what she imagined it to be. "Alright," she said, unfolding her arms and letting them slap at her sides. "What do you need me to do to help you get your sex couch in your truck?"

Inuyasha nearly choked on his spit. "Oh fuck, you _know_?!"

"It's not that hard to _tell_!"

"For Kikyo it was apparently!"

* * *

It shouldn't have taken as long as it did to get the lounger out to his truck. Once he had gotten Kagome to stop laughing, he'd recounted the story that Kikyo had told him and how he really came to acquire the new piece of furniture. Once she had quit laughing the _second_ time, he was able to get her to run ahead and hold the doors open. It really didn't weigh as much as it looked like it would, and he was able to hoist it on his back. Kagome had expressed concerns, but he kept telling her that he had a firm grip and could see where he stepped this way.

They'd reached the parking lot when he heard her ask "Did you really mean what you said back there? About the holidays?"

"Of course I did, Kagome. Why would you think I didn't?" Shit, the weight of the couch was starting to kick in and naturally he had to park a ways away today of all days. His body bowed forward a little more, so he couldn't see Kagome's expression fall as they reached the truck.

"I mean…with the stuff with the guy from the bookstore…I didn't figure you'd want anything to do with me." Kagome opened the passenger door to drop her belongings inside, then ran around to the back to drop the tailgate. This worry had been sitting on her chest all day, and she had to get it out before he responded. "Because I haven't been able to make a decision, I thought…that you'd think…you know. Why try to get involved with this girl on any level if she's hung up on some other guy?"

Inuyasha heard the soft bang of the tailgate laying flat and heaved the lounger up off his shoulders. "You can't think like that. Kagome, I mean it when I say that I'm willing to accept whatever answer you give me. If that means I have to wait, I'll wait. Has the half demon said anything more to you about it?"

Kagome reached up in a vain attempt to help slide the lounger into the bed of the truck, but the best she could do was brush the side with her fingertips. Her focus had been on the lounger itself as she voiced her thoughts. "No. Things have been too busy at the bookstore, and I didn't see him today at lunch…and…oh…oh my god…"

She was seeing things, right? This was all in her head? Had the rum raisin she polished off the night before turned over without her knowing? There had to be some explanation for what she was seeing.

How in the _fuck_ was Inuyasha's hair turning white?!

Her grip on the side of the truck bed tightened as he straightened up, looking at her confused with golden eyes instead of brown. The human ears had disappeared as the hair went white to the tips, and two fuzzy dog ears appeared higher up. The blunt nails on his hands had grown into familiar clawed points.

Oh god.

It was him.

"You're…oh god…you're…"

"What? What's wrong, Kagome?" His expression grew into alarm as she failed to get the words out, and he rounded the truck, grasping her by the shoulders. As he was about to ask her again what was wrong, he noticed his hands. "Shit. Kagome – I – I can explain."

"You're…. _you_ …you're…holy shit…"

"Kagome, I swear I can explain."

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she finally said, "I sure hope so cause you're not a werewolf."

That…that had been unexpected, and he found himself laughing uncontrollably as he dropped his head onto her shoulder. Of all the things she could have said…her first thought was lycanthropy? Here he was expecting her to scream at him, cry, be mad as hell, _anything_ that he'd stressed about the longer he had spent his time around her with the disguise.

"This is funny?" she squeaked, feeling heat cross over her entire body. Kagome was positive she was blushing from head to toe in that moment. "I've seen you naked!"

"Did you like it?"

"Inuyasha!"

"I mean it," he chuckled, lifting his head up and studying her. Kagome was practically glowing red she was blushing so hard, and his tone softened. "I really do have an explanation, if you're willing to listen?"

This time she laughed, but there was no humor in her voice when she spoke. "Listen? Sure, I'll listen. You'll just have to do me a solid and break it down into small parts so I don't misunderstand anything. I mean how much of an idiot can I be, Inuyasha? I've been drawing you all semester and was too stupid to see you for what you were! Oh – the kicker – you know the kicker? That I've been _kissing_ you for months, not knowing you were you! That I've wished you would agree to drop by my apartment for a bit after classes, knowing full well where it could lead –"

"Kagome…"

"No, Inuyasha! You need to – oh who am I kidding you _already know_! You've known for months that I've had a crush on you since my first year here! And you managed to act like you didn't know all while you were kissing me, holding me, making me wish that I'd gotten that chance with you as you are now! Was this…whatever we were doing…was this true? You really meant the things you told me for months?"

He didn't like that he was smelling the onset of tears. She wasn't upset with him. She was humiliated with herself. Inuyasha let go of her shoulders and cupped her cheeks in his hands, directing her to not look away from him. "I've been attracted to you since you stepped in the bookstore that day," he murmured. "Everything I said to you was the truth, Kagome. You're not a fool, and you're sure as hell not stupid. I'm the moron that was keeping this secret from you. I could have told you anytime before now. I'd intended to tell you tonight, actually."

"Why did you wait so long?"

"Scared," he admitted. "All of my past relationships didn't take kindly to committing to a half demon for the long term. I was afraid to tell you because I've grown to care about you so much. The thought of you being repulsed by me was nearly as bad as you not wanting to ever speak to me again. I thought…if I couldn't get more than friendship with you, that would be enough. But I'm not so sure it is anymore, Kagome. Not since I kissed you that first time."

The tears that did run down her cheeks were brushed away by his thumbs. "Sorry, I don't mean to cry. I'm just…"

Inuyasha could tell, pulling her into his arms tightly and murmuring in her hair. "I know." The way she held onto him was what he'd hoped for for years, and he was going to savor it. Her tears didn't last but he really didn't want to let her go. Not yet anyway.

Kagome buried her face in his chest as she tried to calm down. "Sorry," she said again, though it came out muffled. "It…it was a shock."

"I figured," he chuckled dryly, and she could feel the vibrations against him. He rubbed her back lightly, feeling some of the weight lift off his chest as she sighed. At least she still welcomed his touch.

She really wasn't upset with Inuyasha. That's what she kept reminding herself. She only wished she could tell herself that she wasn't stupid for not noticing the similar features. Kagome struggled to lean back just enough to look up at the half demon that was holding her. He still looked concerned that she was going to run off or something, but that was the last thing she wanted to do. "Does this mean…what you said…I mean, _before_ before…all this…"

"The waiting? Woman I've waited to get you to notice me for almost three years; if you need time to think about us becoming an "us" I'll wait another three –"

Kagome didn't wait to let him finish his sentence before she grabbed fistfuls of his t-shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. Being able to kiss the "human" him had been wonderful, but now that she knew the truth and could kiss him as the half demon that he was, it was so much better. Especially since she actually got to _kiss_ him this time. When he'd done it just before class the other day, she'd been so caught off guard that she barely got to enjoy it.

He let out another laugh once she let him go. "Guess I don't need to ask if you need time," he teased. The parking lot lights ticking on reminded him that they weren't outside her apartment, like he usually was when he got to kiss her. "It's late, we should get you home." The words felt bitter on his tongue after that last kiss, but he knew it was the right thing to do.

She let him lead her to the passenger side and climbed in without a fuss. Inuyasha shut the door and came around the other side, sliding in behind the wheel. It wasn't until after the engine started up did she remember to ask, "Why were you disguised as a human?"

"Shit, I never did say did I?" Inuyasha pulled out onto the street, sending her an apologetic glance. "Sorry, got distracted by your tongue –" he let out a laugh as she reached over and swatted him in the shoulder. "I mean it! But anyway, yeah. I uh…might have been taking an experimental drug…"

"You _what_?!" She hadn't meant to say that in a squawk, just as he hadn't intended to slam on the breaks in the middle of the road, jerking them both forward against the seat belts.

Luckily he was taking a back road so no one saw that his truck visibly bounced the lounger that was sitting in the bed. He mumbled out another apology as he eased back onto the gas. "It's not as bad as you think, Kagome!" Holy hell he hadn't expected her to react _that_ way about it. "The head of the medical sciences department – Dr. Mushin, you know of him? He's been developing a pill that allows a full blooded demon, or in my case a half demon, the ability to suppress only the physical characteristics that set us apart from humans.

Since there wasn't a lot of full blooded demons that were willing to do the study that met his requirements, he approached me and asked if I'd be willing to try it for the term. I guess full demons figured they might get purified, I don't know, when they heard about the drug. Dr. Mushin was the one to produce it, and has only had students on hand to observe his findings. There was no way he'd allow a student to create this.

So I go to his office to meet with him, sign all the forms that say that I'm willingly volunteering, he's not bribing me with anything, all that junk. I'm halfway there and I run into Kikyo. Said she was looking for a model for her class for the term. Wanted to stick with just one this time because apparently in the past she had multiple ones get the schedule mixed up and it was a grand shitshow. Her hunt to find someone whose schedule that could line up with her original class time wasn't working, and somehow my name was passed along to her. With me having less classes I've been working at the bookstore more often, and she wanted to ask me about my schedule and when I got off work…"

Kagome reached out and grabbed his arm, realization hitting her. "You mean to tell me…that _you're the reason this class was later than it should've been?_ "

"If I say yes are you gonna be mad?"

"….Probably not?"

"Well I ain't saying no…" Inuyasha grinned when he glanced over and saw her slump back in the seat. "In my defense, I had _no idea_ that you were in the class until that first night I walked in there. That was pure coincidence."

She nodded. Looking out before her, a frown dropped onto her face. This…this did not look like the way back to her apartment. "Inuyasha? Where are we going?"

"What?"

"This isn't my apartment building. It's not even one of the streets that lead to my apartment. I don't…think?" It was very much dark now but the streetlights weren't giving her any visual cues that she recognized on the way home.

"Um…right, about that…" Fuck, he hadn't even realized! He had been so caught up in telling Kagome about why he looked human that he hadn't been paying a whole hell of a lot of attention to where he was going. "This is…uh…my house." Inuyasha coughed uncomfortably. "I wasn't paying attention, and it's just a five minute drive from your apartment building that I...drove home out of reflex. Let me pull in and turn around and I'll get you home."

"W-wait!" Kagome froze as she reached out for his hand as it fell on the gear shift. Heat flooded her face as it sunk in that she had to explain herself. "I mean…you know…" she was fumbling over her words again, that was just great. "There's no reason I couldn't help you…you know…get your lounger inside."

Was she...? Inuyasha swallowed thickly. "Then…how about dinner? See what happens?" The shy smile that spread across her face made his stomach flip.

"Yeah. See what happens."

* * *

_Three weeks later_

Kagome stretched and turned over in bed, reaching for the phone that was currently vibrating on her nightstand. It was too early for phone calls. Her mom knew this. Her grandpa knew this. Her brother even knew it, but since it was his dominant arm he'd broken she couldn't imagine it was him, even for a prank call. She'd said she would video chat that evening anyway.

She blinked at the screen in confusion before she realized it wasn't a call, but a text. A text from one of her old girlfriends from high school. Eri, in particular.

[Hey Kagome! Merry Christmas! Called your house and you mom said you were staying at school over the holidays?]

' _Shit. If I don't respond she'll keep it up.'_ [Yeah. Can't afford to make it there and back this year. There, she hoped that'd suffice.]

Right as she was about to put the phone up it buzzed again. [Uh huh. So what's his name?]

Kagome choked, dropping the phone on her nose. [It's the truth! Rent's high in the city!]

[Okay okay. But what's his name?]

[…Inuyasha] She skimmed her gallery and added a picture of the two of them as an attachment. It'd only be a matter of time before she asked anyway.

Several minutes passed before she got a response.

[Oh my damn]  
[How was it?]  
[Good?]  
[Please say good]

No way was she going to respond to that. [How was what?] she typed instead.

[Don't play innocent, Kagome!]

She snorted loudly as she typed her response. Kagome was so engrossed in her phone that she missed the grin on the half demon's face as he stood in the doorway, watching her.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Inuyasha asked as he slid into the bed next to her. He dropped kisses along her bare shoulder as she finished typing. "Your family change the time of the video chat?"

Kagome shook her head and tried not to shiver at his touch. Too distracting, and he knew it. "No, that's still the same time. You're gonna be there, right?"

"Your grandpa gonna try and purify me over Wi-Fi again?"

"Okay that was more funny than worrisome and you know it," she pointed out. "Besides, you're growing on him. Mom's told him about all the good you've done." She waved the phone at him and added. "Text from a Eri, one of my friends from high school. Asked about you and me."

"Oh really? What did you say?" Inuyasha was curious, but he didn't expect her to pass him her phone. He scrolled upwards and skimmed. Eri wanted to know his name…okay. Wanted to know… wait. She wanted to know if they'd – yep, that's exactly what he read.

Then he got to Kagome's response and _howled_ with laughter.

"Yes Eri, we fucked. And it was good," he read aloud once he could find his voice again. Inuyasha passed the phone back to her as he wiped the tears from his eyes. That certainly explained her snorting earlier.

"You approve, I take it?"

"Fuck yes. Except…just good?"

Kagome gave him a funny look. He actually sounded offended by that! "What? You expect me to type phenomenal this early in the day?"

Inuyasha crawled over her, grabbing her phone and setting it back on the nightstand. His lips descended on her neck, nibbling at the skin and delighting in making her giggle. "I don't expect you to be able to type _anything_ this early. Gonna have to fix that…" The half demon proceeded to make his girlfriend forget how to spell her own name, much less "good".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this met everyone's expectations! I know it helped me work through a couple blocks for another wip and it gave me the inspiration to pick it up again. If there is an epilogue - I am toying with the idea - it might not be for a while, so consider this the end of the actual story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the epilogue...but time went sideways along with my inspiration, so have a funny idea that could fall within the events of chapter 6. The next chapter will be the final one and the epilogue that this fic needs, I promise. It's in the works (outline anyway), and I hope to work on it next.

Kagome couldn't believe that her figure study final entailed nude artwork!

What was the teacher even thinking?!

Now, she didn't consider herself a prude by any means, but when the student is crushing on the art model, it makes it really hard to look him in the eye when at some point she knew that she'd have to draw that _one_ eye that was located much lower. It would've helped loads if Inuyasha wasn't constantly focused on _her_ as she worked on drawing _him_. For being the one letting it all hang out on display – and good lord did he have a lot to display – she felt like she was the one exposed. Like a gazelle in the plains trying to eat and knowing that there was something bigger, stronger, and much faster that was going to eat her.

Okay maybe that was a bad analogy because she wouldn't mind being eaten by him.

' _Fucking hell, woman. Get yourself in check for once tonight, will you?!'_

Kagome took too much delight in stabbing the plastic on her tv dinner tray before she threw it in the microwave. Horny and hungry were a bad combination on a normal day, but when you throw in firm muscle that looks like a literal god within touching distance, everything was amped up. It didn't help matters at all that she needed more than just him holding her hand, or the hugs, or even the kisses that made her want to drag him in her apartment. She wanted everything, but until she could make her heart _decide_ , she was going to have to deal with the little that she could get. Inuyasha had dropped her off as usual, in front of her apartment door. She hadn't asked him to come inside again, knowing the answer already, but damn did she ever want to.

Especially after seeing what he had under that silk robe earlier that evening. Her thoughts were still going "UNF" each time she revisited that memory of the belt coming undone.

In fact that was the problem. She _couldn't_ forget. It was seared into her brain, and all she wanted to do the next time was be the one to untie that knot. With her teeth. She needed a distraction, and with limited resources at her disposal, she had unhealthy food and mind-numbing sitcom reruns.

She _needed_ mind-numbing almost as bad as she needed Inuyasha to storm into her apartment, throw her onto the closest flat surface and –

It took almost two hours of _WKRP in Cincinnati,_ the Hungry Man meal, and the remainder of her pint of Ben and Jerry's before she felt like she could hibernate in her bed on a food coma until morning.

* * *

"One of these days it's going to be me behind that easel sketching _you_ , Ka-Go-Me."

The purr in his voice made her face hot instantly. _Why_ did Inuyasha have to say her name like that? Why did he have to do it when he was standing not three feet away from her and stark-ass naked? And _why_ did no one else in the class pick up on that suggestive tone? Surely someone had to have heard the subject blatantly imply something with one of the other students.

Kagome shifted in her seat, reaching for her pencil case to get out her 6B and replace the tortillon she had been using for an old eyeshadow brush instead. She took advantage of being concealed completely behind the easel from Inuyasha's smug look and looked to either side of her to observe her classmate's progress. Her lips flattened into a line as she looked at their progress.

Of course. Most of the work on either side of her was limited to gesture lines or basic shape-blocking, whereas most of the current progress as focused on Inuyasha's dick. At least the person on the left had the decency to spend some time on the hard cut lines that ran above his hip bones, but the one on the right had essentially just drawn a dick floating on the paper. She shouldn't have been surprised, but then again, if she could've gotten away with staring at him for the entirety of the time she would have.

Preferably _just_ the two of them.

In her apartment. In her bedroom. Or his.

She wasn't picky.

"Need more time?" Inuyasha asked teasingly. Like he knew where her thoughts had strayed.

"I'm doing just fine," she ground out, snapping the case closed.

Inuyasha broke his stance to stretch – which normally would've created a fuss so she was shocked that there was no uproar – but as her eyes peeked over the easel she could swear he was flexing. For her. _'If only we were alone…no! Bad Kagome! Focus!'_ She was shaking her head to rid the thoughts that were getting progressively dirtier by the second. On the other side of the easel she could hear him continue to talk.

"I know this is part of your final exam and all, but I don't see why I couldn't offer myself as _study materials…_ "

Kagome let out a squeak at that. Yes – yes she would _very much_ like that – a hands-on examination of said materials would be _wonderful_ – but he couldn't say things like that in the classroom! She straightened and prepared to tell Inuyasha just that when the side door to the room flew open. A cold blast of air filled the room, pulling papers off easels, tables, and every surface where it wasn't weighed down. The yelp from Inuyasha had Kagome knocking her chair backwards as she shot to her feet.

"Someone close that damn door!" she called out, stumbling around her belongings and the overturned chair to grab the silk robe that he'd left on the empty chair next to hers. As the cold air kept filling the room, Kagome could only watch in horror as the robe disintegrated at her touch. She kept shouting for the people around her to _do something_ – anything but sit there on their asses – but she could barely hear herself over the sound of the wind. "What's going on?" was shouted into the void for all the good it did as she continued to search the room for something to keep Inuyasha warm. Kagome found his clothes in a pile behind the changing screen, but each article she touched turned to dust and was carried off by the wind. The old sheets she'd found folded on the table against the wall that were to double as drip cloths also vanished at her touch.

The whirlwind left as quickly as it had come, but the room was destroyed. Finals papers were scattered everywhere, some even ruined by other materials in the mayhem, but it didn't matter. Right then there was a man who had no clothes and was in desperate need of getting warm, and she didn't have any way to help him. Kagome turned back to Inuyasha to see him rubbing his arms. "I'm sorry," she said dejectedly. "I don't know what's going on…"

Inuyasha didn't appear to look phased. "It's just clothes. I've got more."

"But not _with_ you! And it's freezing in here! You need something to keep you warm!"

"So come here then."

Kagome's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air on land. "Are you crazy? We're not alone! You can't say things like that!"

"We _are_ alone," he grinned, opening his arms. "You gonna come over here or what?"

Her mouth shut with an audible click as she looked around her. Where had everyone gone? The room wasn't full by any means, but she was pretty damn sure that there were people besides her and Inuyasha in the room. When she looked back to Inuyasha she realized her feet had made the decision and were bringing her closer to him. _'Keep your eyes up. Don't look down. Don't you dare look down, you've seen enough of him already. He's cold. He needs to get warm, not have you ogling him.'_

If only he hadn't said "Good girl" when he started to slip his arms around her, she might not have let out a whimper of want. She already knew that he was solid muscle from that first hug, but by god she could feel _everything_ now and she loved it. Kagome's arms were starting to wrap around his waist when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Hey now, I'm cold too!"

Her eyes snapped open and she turned in Inuyasha's arms to see that the book store employee with the cute ears was there. When did he get there? Why was he there? Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha to see his reaction, but she was more surprised to see that he was…smiling? Why was _he_ smiling?

"I don't have a problem with sharing Kagome," Inuyasha said to the half demon, "so long as she doesn't mind dividing her attention."

One fuzzy ear flicked as he started walking closer. "Somehow I don't think that'd be an issue." Oh dear god why did the bookstore guy sound like Inuyasha when he spoke with that rumble in his voice?

"W-wait just a second –" Kagome pushed back slightly against Inuyasha's chest and felt his fingers slide down the small of her back. How…how the hell did she feel him touch her skin? She was wearing a long tunic top today…

Or…she _was_.

One glance downwards showed that she was naked too, though no one could blame her for doing a double take when she realized that Inuyasha was ready for more. Kagome started to throw her arms over herself, to turn away on instinct, only she came face to face with the half demon.

And now he was naked.

"Why are you naked?!" she squeaked, backing into Inuyasha and his hardness and gasping in surprise.

"You know what they say," the half demon grinned, opening his arms in a mirror image of Inuyasha. "It's better to warm each other with skin on skin contact."

Kagome's eye was starting to twitch as she looked between both men who were closing in on either side of her. This couldn't be happening. There was just no way it was possible. She had to be dreaming. How else could she explain why Inuyasha and the half demon looked exactly the same when they were naked? She turned back to Inuyasha and wanted to say something. Anything really, but he was cupping her face and drawing her in for a kiss as her body pressed against the hard planes of his chest. Behind her she felt the half demon drop kisses along her shoulder as he ground his lower half against her, and this time she might've let out a moan.

Just a tiny one. Miniscule.

Inuyasha grinned against her lips as one hand reached down to guide her thigh around his hip. It...shouldn't have fit so snugly as they closed the distance, but then the very hard insistence that now pushed between her thighs shouldn't have fit so well either. The half demon was nibbling against her neck now, and Kagome couldn't decide if she was better off rocking forward or backwards. Either way she was in for it, especially when both men murmured in her ears, "That's our girl".

Kagome jerked awake with a shriek, sitting up and patting herself all over.

Oh, good. Clothes were still on. And she was alone, in her bed, and _not_ in the classroom.

That…that shouldn't have felt as disappointing as it did in that moment.

She let out a shuddering breath, rubbing her hands over her face as she pulled her knees to her chest. That dream, that was something else, and she could safely say that of the few sex dreams she had in the past, they were all "faceless" men that she'd never seen before. There was nothing significant about those dreams that held meaning. Not like this one. This one…this one was trying to tell her that she _really_ needed to make a decision: either give up on the one that she's liked from afar because she's too chicken to _ask_ and be with the one that she knows has interest, or lose them both and be alone. She couldn't keep leading Inuyasha along, no matter how many times he told her he'd wait. It wasn't fair.

None of this was fair.

* * *

Inuyasha shoved his phone in his back pocket as he exited his truck. The latest email from Dr. Mushin was reminding him of why he couldn't keep taking the concealer. He'd approached the old man the day after he'd first driven Kagome home and inquired about if he could get a smaller dose. Dr. Mushin had been ready to run him out of the room until he'd quickly blurted out that it was for Kagome, which meant he had to give a quick explanation of _why_ he was picking her up and driving her home as a "human". In the end, he'd been given the same dosage but was advised to cut them in half; to try to create more this late into the semester with a smaller dose was pointless. Since he had been taking them for months anyway, the doctor assumed that a tolerance was built so a half should cut the effects of the time down. It'd be enough to hold the appearance when he went to pick Kagome up in the mornings, and bring her back in the evenings when he wasn't needed to model.

Right that moment he didn't give a damn. He couldn't stop thinking about the previous night. How Kagome's eyes had widened when he removed the robe, how her scent picked up before she became immersed in work. It was a bit of a confidence booster, he couldn't deny, but secretly he was also thankful that her scent had mellowed out. The last thing he needed was to be standing there for almost two hours and _not_ being able to hide or _explain_ why he was sporting a rager.

No, couldn't do that. Kikyo wouldn't let him live it down either. And Kagome…well, if he was going to present to her, he wanted to do it in private anyway. The half demon balanced the hot drinks in hand with the paper bag clenched between his fingers as he pulled open the door to the building. It was probably a dumb thing to do, considering the time and that she had likely already fixed herself something to eat, but he'd taken the long way around and stopped at the coffee shop for fresh coffee and breakfast. It gave him enough time to let the concealer take effect, even if the poor kid working the drive through got a shock at seeing the half demon's ears disappear into his hair.

Not really a lot of people around, but then it was early. There was one, dressed in baggy pajama pants with an old band tee and messy hair, clutching her mail like a lifeline when she turned away from the mailboxes.

Kagome.

She looked surprised to see him, but all he could focus on was how cute she looked. How was that even possible? He rolled out of the bed most days and startled himself, but when she does it – okay probably not the best idea to think about Kagome and a bed when the hands are full of coffee and food. There'd be no way to hide tented jeans. "Hey," he cleared his throat. "Brought you breakfast."

* * *

' _I think if I ever manage to look Inuyasha in the eye again, it'll be a miracle.'_

Kagome's day was pretty dull, for the most part. Study between classes, go to class, take final, have an existential crisis, repeat. At long last, the day was drawing to a close and she knew that she'd have to face Inuyasha again. He still insisted on making sure she got home safely whether it was the night of the art class or not, and while the gesture was sweet, this evening it was going to feel like absolute torture.

When he had appeared in the foyer with breakfast, multiple thoughts had all crashed together in her mind. Oh god, he's early. He's brought food. It smells delicious. I'm still in my ratty pajamas. I haven't brushed my hair yet. _He_ smells delicious. It wasn't fair to look that good so early in the morning.

He'd walked with her back upstairs and she'd listened to him explain his reasoning as she sipped on the coffee that he'd given her. It really had been a sweet idea, so she couldn't be upset with him for stumbling across her at her worst moment. To be fair, after that dream she'd had, it had taken a while to go back to sleep. Waking up antsy and horny were a terrible combination, and if she kept this up she was going to burn the motor out on her Hitachi. Once she'd fallen asleep again, she was pretty certain that she knocked her alarm clock off her bedside table and overslept as a result. All she knew was that it was in pieces when she woke up the second time and would have to resort to her phone's alarm.

At least this time when she invited him to come in and sit down, he did. They sat on the couch and finished the breakfast he'd brought while the news played as background noise. She'd apologized for not being ready, but he shrugged it off. And he'd told her that she looked fine as he wiped a small spot of jam from her bottom lip that she'd missed.

She could've jumped him.

Instead, she'd blushed mumbling a thanks as she got up to get dressed. Kagome could barely look him in the eye as she left the room. Hell, she could barely look Inuyasha in the eye as they left for campus! It was too weird still and she had this fleeting thought that if she stared too long he'd be naked the second she blinked.

' _No_ , _that'll be Friday,'_ she thought, collecting her bag and making her way to the exit. As she expected, Inuyasha was waiting for her on the other side of the hallway. Despite the dream, despite her anxiety over everything, she still found herself smiling as she walked up to him. It wasn't forced, and she could only think of one other man – er half demon – that could do that.

In fact the only time she felt that smile drop was when Inuyasha had started the engine of his truck and asked, "Is there something wrong, Kagome? You've barely looked at me straight all day? Is it the modeling?"

"W-what?"

"Your final for the class. Does this – I mean, does seeing me naked bother you?"

"No!" Kagome blurted out a little too quickly. She wasn't sure if her face heated up over how fast the response was, that she _didn't_ mind seeing him naked, or the cheeky grin that was spreading across his face. "I – I mean no, it doesn't bother me. Why would you think that? Shut up."

Inuyasha let out a small laugh as Kagome tried to pump the brakes on her mouth before she admitted more than she wanted to. "I was going to say that if it bothered you, I could back out of it. Maybe Kikyo could bring in a different model at last minute. I don't want to upset you."

"I've drawn nudes in the past," she huffed, and his hands squeezed the steering wheel a little tighter. "They were from photos though. I've never drawn from a living model until this class."

"I'm glad I get to be your first then." He shouldn't have said it, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. His hands clenched and unclenched the wheel as he silently cursed himself for being a moron. He really wasn't trying to make it sound dirty, but the stifled laughter that bubbled from the woman next to him eased his mind. She found it funny, thank the gods. "Anyway," he continued, "you really haven't looked me in the eye since last night. Did I do something wrong? You can tell me, I won't be upset. If there's something I can do, I'll do it."

Kagome let out a sigh and glanced his way. Inuyasha looked bothered, and _that_ upset her. She was going to have to come clean. "You didn't do anything, Inuyasha. I…I didn't sleep well, that's all."

"Like a nightmare kind of bad night, or sleep weird kind of night?"

"Not so much a nightmare," she mumbled. "More like…a weird dream…that you were in."

If he hadn't been wearing the concealment his ears might've perked up. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, uh…it was in the classroom. We were doing another part of the final exam, and you were…well you were naked. I was drawing. You were talking to me, and the side door – I think it's the emergency exit? – it flew open and this arctic cold air came in the room. Scattered paper everywhere, and no one would get up and shut the door no matter how much I yelled. I tried to find your clothes but they…turned to dust. Even the drop cloths for painting disappeared as soon as I touched them."

"And I'm still buck ass naked."

"Uh huh."

"Sounds cold."

"Yeah," Kagome swallowed. "This is…this is where it gets weird. You wanted me to come warm you up-"

"That doesn't sound weird to me-"

"Okay shush! This is going to be weird enough to talk about without you interrupting me!" She rolled her eyes at his grin. "Anyway, as soon as I got to you…the bookstore employee I've been talking to you about shows up. Says he's cold too, and you…you said…that you didn't mind sharing…"

Inuyasha's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline as Kagome continued to talk about the dream. Fuck, no wonder she couldn't look him in the eye! When she finished her recount he didn't know what to say. He cut the engine as they came to a stop in the parking lot of the apartments and sat back against the seat. "Well…that's…that's different."

"See what I mean?"

"You do know that I don't expect you to make any snap decisions, right?" Inuyasha reached over and grasped her hand within his. "I'll wait however long it takes. If you're concerned about the semester ending, don't be. You have my number. I'm still going to be coming around to see you until you tell me otherwise, including taking you to campus and back."

That was the second time that day that Kagome wanted to jump him. At least this time her excuse was that if she _did_ , her ass would hit the steering wheel and blow the horn. That horrifying image made it a lot easier to let him escort her back to her apartment.

If only he hadn't whispered in her ear that he wasn't against the idea, then maybe she wouldn't have to break out the Hitachi again just to fall asleep. She was either going to numb her lady bits at this rate or destroy the motor in her vibrator if he kept saying things like this.

* * *

On Wednesday, Kagome had come in to return a few of her rental books. Things were going alright, he thought. He completed the steps to clear her balance, dropped the books into the cardboard box at his feet, and then…

Suikotsu entered the bookstore from the parking lot door, which by either sheer coincidence or karma out to get him, a cold blast of air wafted into the open space.

It was all he could do to not yell at his boss on a normal day. The oblivious bastard grinned like a dope and made his way to the back room without a word. The half demon shook his head and reached for a scrap piece of paper under the counter, writing "Use indoor entrance" on it before taping it to the glass and locking the door.

The soft giggle from Kagome reached his ears before he had turned back. "You think that'll work?"

"If it doesn't we'll have to huddle together for warmth."

Shit.

Her eyes widened.

His eyes widened.

She was blushing a pretty shade of pink.

He…really hoped he wasn't.

How could he be so damn stupid?! Kagome had _told_ him in confidence as the human about that dream, and he had gone and blurted that out without thinking?! Fuck, this was not how he wanted her to find out the truth! He had to think quick!

"I mean – uh – in theory. So to speak. Not necessarily _us_ us, but not saying that I'm against the idea or anything – shit, hang on. What I mean is, if given the choice I'd pick you in a heartbeat any day…fuck, let me explain…"

And there it was. The giggles had returned. The half demon glanced up from the counter to Kagome to see her trying to muffle her reaction behind her hands. Her cheeks were still pink, and he could definitely tell that she hadn't been against the idea either – _'Don't inhale you dumbass! Don't be weird!'_ – but nothing about her scent or her body language suggested that she was upset. He absently rubbed his neck, grinning like an idiot. If she wasn't upset by his blunder, he wasn't going to push his luck.

"I know what you mean," she finally said at last, just loud enough for him to hear. Kagome collected her receipt from the counter and tucked it in her bag, turning swiftly to look behind her before looking back at him. "If I were you I wouldn't want to snuggle up to my boss either."

A cluster of students were coming up behind Kagome, and Inuyasha wished he could've sent them elsewhere. Unfortunately he was the only one at the counters until lunch. It took every ounce of concentration to not visibly show his displeasure.

Kagome sensed that they were on borrowed time as she shouldered her bag. "I'll let you get back to it," she said with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to keep you from your work."

"No, no – it's fine." Inuyasha wanted to say that _she_ was fine where she was, but after that last fuck up it might come off as something else entirely. Which…wasn't _wrong_ , but not what he was aiming for.

"Maybe I'll see you around then?"

That sounded hopeful. That was a good sign. So was that shy little smile as she chewed her lip. "Yeah," Inuyasha smiled. "I hope so."


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inuyasha has it all planned out, all the way down to asking Kagome something very important. Or so he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. Last chapter of Tracing Happy Trails. It's been a fight and a half since I decided that I wanted to do an epilogue, and probably put more pressure on myself than I should have. I wanted it to be good and worth the wait, and...I'm happy with it, so I hope you are too. Smut in this one, I promise.

College was over and done with. Kagome had moved in with him right after Christmas break, and Inuyasha made his work schedule bend so he could make sure his girlfriend got back and forth to her classes safely. She had finished school with honors, and graduation had been the first time he'd met her family face to face. It had been an experience to say the least.

That was over a year ago.

Kagome still lived with him, and he couldn't fathom what life would be like if she hadn't said yes. His house didn't feel empty anymore, even when she had left to run errands. Knowing that she was there, that she had made his place her home, made his heart swell. He wanted more, as selfish as it was. She shared his home, his bed, her love…but he wanted more.

Her family had given him their blessing almost as soon as he approached them. He had the ring, even. Had it picked out seven months prior. All he needed to do was ask Kagome.

Easier said than done.

It had taken two months to get the ring sized properly, and for the following _five_ months he'd been through a rollercoaster of distractions that prevented him from finding the time.

The first time he had decided that he wanted to ask her was in October. Mid-October to be more precise. They had gone to the big party store in town to pick out costumes for Halloween, and they'd intended to drive back to her family's shrine to take her younger brother and cousins out for a party. Kagome was sequestered in the furthest dressing room with a mountain of costumes that she deigned fit to try on. Inuyasha had already selected his – a generic rockstar – easy and simple enough to drive to the shrine and back in. His girlfriend, on the other hand, couldn't make up her mind. She wanted to do something cute, but she also wanted to look good for him. She also didn't want to be cold if the weatherman was wrong, but she didn't want to roast in something either, and still wanted to be able to be comfortable.

It was a process.

Inuyasha could still recall the moment that she opened the dressing room door and revealed the very revealing mini with the tule petticoat underneath, and how he was backing her up into the dressing room and shutting the door. Telling her to stay as quiet as she could as he bent her over the seating and flipped that skirt up.

It wasn't the costume that she wore for Halloween, but he'd bought it anyway just for the memories.

When November came around, they were going back to the shrine to celebrate Souta's birthday. It was a small gathering, and one of the big gifts Souta had gotten was a new gaming platform. It had been an organized gift, with everyone pitching in to a bit to cover it, and going through a list of games to get him started. One of the choices that Souta had been super excited to get was Fortnite, and Inuyasha hadn't been able to say no when her brother asked him to play. He'd never played Fortnite before. He didn't even know what it _was_ exactly. At best he knew you could play against other people online, so he thought in the spirit of being a good boyfriend he'd do the kid a service and humor him for an hour or so.

The opportunity to ask Kagome that weekend was lost because he and Souta stayed up into the late hours playing, and once the kid started to drift off holding the controller he knew it was time to shut it down. Inuyasha discovered to his dismay that Kagome had also passed out on the couch watching them play, so he ended up carrying both to their rooms.

In December there were family gatherings with his family and hers, so between the shopping for everyone and driving all over town and back, there was no time to sit down and talk. Hell, there was barely time to get so much as a kiss in on some days. It was like he'd hit that dry spell all over again before he'd met Kagome, only this time she was in bed next to him and too tired to even offer a hand.

After the new year, he thought that there might be a chance in January. That whole spiel about "new year, new you" was bullshit, if anyone were to ask him. The only thing that January brought out was the gray suck that blanketed everything in the midst of getting organized at home and with work. Even though there were no birthdays, holidays, or events that they had to contend with through the month, they were still both drained. There wasn't one day that felt _right_ to him, so he held off.

And now it was February.

Past Inuyasha would kick himself if he could for not just…outright asking! How hard would it be to say "Kagome, will you marry me"?

Pretty fucking hard, apparently. This was, after all, the genius who thought to gauge her interest in him by taking an experimental drug for months that made him look different.

It wasn't like he didn't know that she loved him, either. She had worried herself almost to the point of an anxiety attack trying to choose his human appearance or his half demon self. It shouldn't have been this hard to come up with a way to pop the question. Kagome didn't expect wild gestures, and he knew this.

That didn't mean that she didn't deserve them.

The first weekend of the month, they were both lounging on the couch watching a movie. It was one of those chick-flick type movies that Kagome had wanted to see but couldn't bring herself to buy, so she toughed it out until it was put on cable. Inuyasha really didn't care. The plot was pretty basic: guy meets girl, there's a connection, then a misunderstanding, then a blowup, more drama, and ultimately a kiss and happily ever after. It was mostly white noise to him as he doubled as his girlfriend's breathing pillow, snuggled under the crook of his arm. He had her, and she was content with the movie, so he didn't give a damn what she wanted to watch.

It gave him time to think about how he could propose to her. He was starting to get anxious – it had been _five months_ since he'd gotten the ring from the jeweler. Then an idea struck him.

Valentines day.

Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? It was a romantic holiday – okay maybe not originally – but it had the right atmosphere even on a dreary day. There were lots of ways that he could set up the perfect date. They could go to the movies, see a flick that she'd been wanting to but never made time for – or better yet a play. He thought that Twelfth Night was one of the currents in circulation, and Kagome loved the chaos of that one. They could go to a fancy restaurant for dinner, perhaps go dancing… somewhere in the midst of whatever he set up for them he'd drop to one knee and present her with the ring. The more he thought about it, the more his ears twitched in excitement. It was brilliant. Perfect even. It was –

"Can you believe some women think this is romantic?"

Inuyasha blinked. "What?" He really hoped that she hadn't picked up on the fact that he hadn't been watching the movie.

If she did, she didn't let on. Kagome didn't even turn her head to as she continued, waving a hand at the tv screen. "This whole grand stand proposal," she said. "Not every woman wants to be proposed to in the middle of a crowd! What if she says no? It's going to humiliate them both."

He couldn't panic. He _tried_ not to panic. "So… I take it you're not a fan?" Keep his voice even, don't act suspicious –

Kagome snorted. "Hardly. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it works out, and that's great for those couples. I just think that this isn't one of those things that needs to be announced to the world until there's something to actually announce. It's putting all of your eggs in a basket that you're not sure has a sturdy base."

"You've…put some thought into this." He was doubly glad that she couldn't see his expression then, because he was certain that he looked like he had sat in a puddle.

"Oh I've barely gotten started," she laughed, and his stomach dropped. "Sometimes I really think these grand gestures are put on. The woman doesn't look the least bit surprised. It's like she's expecting to be wined and dined at these hard to reserve places, that she's just by coincidence managed to dress to the nines with a perfectly done mani pedi – you can almost feel the energy that comes off her screaming 'Just show me the big ass rock already'!"

Okay…that eliminated proposing at a fancy restaurant. And both a movie and stage play would have the lights turned down so low that he wouldn't be able to read her expression before she answered. Sure, he could use his senses, but he wanted to _see_ her reaction to the ring.

Such as it was.

That was the one thing that he _knew_ he had gotten right. Kagome liked her jewelry to be of the simpler styles with smaller inset stones than the "big rocks" as she dubbed them. He'd even gotten some examples of rings he was considering cleared from her mother as further confirmation.

It still didn't help him decide _how_ to ask her, and Kagome apparently wasn't done ripping all of his ideas to shreds.

"But you know the biggest cliché of all of them?" she asked, not waiting for him to respond. "Valentines day. I don't know why guys think that it's romantic to propose on Valentine's day. Is it so they can remember the day in case she brings it up in conversation years later? Do they think that it means they can bundle gifts for multiple occasions into one? I mean gifts aren't necessary in my opinion, because I think they should be spontaneous and thought out instead of planned around a commercialized day, but anyway. The only thing worse than proposing on Valentine's day is getting married on Valentine's day."

Thank fuck he had never considered the wedding for that day; he was more partial to early summer before it got excessively hot and it could be held outdoors. "I take it this goes back to the gift thing?" He tried to sound amused, he really did.

Kagome shrugged against him before snuggling in closer. "Kind of? But there's this whole…I don't know…there's something crass about anniversaries on Valentine's day, to me. There's already guys that but that trashy, cheaply-made lingerie for their girlfriends for the holiday, but how many of them would double down on that as an anniversary gift too?"

Inuyasha pulled a face at the thought. "I see your point," he agreed. There was a lot that was just…horrible looking. "Hey! I thought you liked that set I picked out last year!" Considering she was _with him_ when they came across it, he hoped she wasn't just humoring him. It wasn't even like it was a surprise he'd sprung on her.

"Of course I liked it! I still do!" Kagome reached for his hand, interlacing her fingers with his. "You have good taste, Inuyasha."

He felt her sigh against his chest, and with the silence that followed, he took that to mean the conversation was over. She was back to being engrossed in the movie, unaware of how his ears had drooped into his hair or the dejected look in his eyes. That was that. He'd gotten his answer straight from the source. No wild gestures in public. Don't plan to propose on Valentine's day.

Fuck.

What was he going to do?

' _I think they should be spontaneous and thought out instead of planned,'_ he thought to himself, rolling her words around in his head. Of course she was talking about giving gifts, but with an engagement ring, it was the same principle…right?

* * *

It was almost the end of the month before Inuyasha found his opening.

Valentine's day had been a success. He did opt for the fancy dinner before taking her to see Twelfth Night, and later that night they had come back and she'd surprised him with the lingerie again. The ring box, as he'd taken to carrying with him everywhere for months, he'd stashed away in a special place. It would only be a matter of time, he'd decided, taking advantage of Kagome disappearing into the bathroom.

That moment came on a quiet evening when they both decided that it was too much trouble to get dressed to go out. For that matter, it was too much trouble to get dressed, period. Inuyasha had made sure all of their curtains were securely shut and the doors locked that morning, telling his girlfriend that it was a clothing optional kind of day. He had no qualms walking around the house naked, and he wanted Kagome to be just as comfortable. They had no company to entertain, the heating was keeping the house warm, and there were no complaints about the view.

Except when cooking was involved. Then he was the one reaching for the aprons he rarely used.

That "lounger" had long since made it's home in their bedroom. He couldn't very well leave it out in the living room if his nieces were to come around to visit. They were inquisitive as hell, and his bare ass had been all over it – along with Kagome's when he could talk her into trying something new. No way he was going to let them climb all over it when he had climbed all over his girlfriend on it.

"You really should let me draw you more," he said, leaning back against it. Since her skills were better than those of her classmates, he felt no guilt as he shifted around.

"Now why would I let you do that?" she mused, waiting for him to settle before she continued her work. It was probably stupid to draw your boyfriend naked when you saw him naked so much, but he had a good form! He had even offered!

Inuyasha smiled lazily, letting his eyes run up and down her body while she turned back to her task. "Because."

"Because _why_."

"Because you're hot as hell, Kagome." He tried not to roll his eyes at her scoff. "I mean it. I know I'm not as good an artist as you are, but you don't see your eyes light up like I do when you look at what I've drawn. I like seeing you smile like that."

"Inuyasha…" How she could still blush after half the things they did – on that sex couch even – was beyond her. And yet, he always found a way to bring it out of her. Kagome ducked her head, staring at her current stash of pencils. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that she felt inadequate next to him, and he was slowly getting her to acknowledge that that wasn't the case at all.

Her brows furrowed when she took stock, realizing that she needed a darker lead for some of the shadows. The pencil case that she had on hand only housed the ones she used most often; the rest of her supplies were in a cabinet in the corner. On autopilot, she rose and started towards the cabinet, not noticing that Inuyasha was sitting straighter on the couch.

He knew the moment she gasped that she had found something she wasn't expecting. Inuyasha swung his legs over the edge, bracing himself for what happened next. He tried not to let his senses lead him any which way, but he couldn't get a read on her with her back to him. "Kagome?"

When she turned around, she was holding the ring box in both her hands.

"Inuyasha?" she asked quietly. "W-what is this?"

"Why don't you come over her and open it?" he encouraged, reaching out and guiding her to sit next to him.

Her hands were shaking, and he wasn't sure if that was good or not. And if he could unclench his, they'd be shaking too. The seconds that went by as she pushed open the little black box felt like an eternity to him. The gasp he heard as she took in the sight of the ring that was sitting inside still didn't tell him if he had messed up or not.

For Kagome, it was a matter of trying not to cry. When she had stood up to get darker leads from the container in the cabinet, she had no idea that she was going to find a jewelry box sitting in the drawer. She'd been using her materials frequently; she'd have come across before now – which meant that it must have been placed there this evening. As she turned to look at Inuyasha, she couldn't help but think that he was looking nervous as he motioned for her to sit next to him. She couldn't stop her hands from shaking as she started to lift the box lid. Her first instinct was the obvious, but she couldn't let herself fall into that. For all she knew, it could be something else, like a house key. Granted she had already been _given_ a house key right after she moved in with him, but surely it wasn't –

She gasped at the sight of the sparkling clear stone. It _was_ a ring.

"Inuyasha?"

"Kagome," he swallowed, taking her free hand and squeezing it. "I've…I've been wanting to give you this for months, but there wasn't ever a right time." He slid off the couch and dropped to a knee before her, still holding her shaking hand. "I love you, Kagome. I'm tired of waiting for the perfect time to ask you, because looking back, _any_ time with you is perfect to me."

A tear had slipped down her cheek, the traitor. Kagome let out a sniffly laugh as she looked at Inuyasha. "We're naked," she pointed out.

"So?" he grinned, making her laugh more. She was relaxing, and that eased his mind a lot. "Consider it an way of putting all the cards on the table. No hiding anything. Kagome, will you marry me?"

More tears fell, but Kagome was smiling so brightly at him that he knew they were happy tears. "I will, Inuyasha. Yes!"

Inuyasha took the box from her, and she could see how his hands had begun to shake as he removed the ring and slipped it onto her finger. Kagome launched herself into his lap moments after, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his face. Inuyasha ended up landing on his butt with an 'oof', but otherwise neither seemed to notice. He was too busy trying to dry her tears between her kisses and she was trying to stop crying at all.

"Inuyasha, it's beautiful! How did you know it would fit? How long have you had this? Why did you wait so long to ask? Did you really think I'd say no?" Every question was coming out rapidly, but Kagome's mind was buzzing with excitement. Inuyasha had asked her to marry him. She was going to get married. All of the wedding dreams she joked about as a teen would actually get to happen – probably not what she wanted back then because her tastes had changed – but _Inuyasha_ would be the one that she'd be walking to.

It was enough to start crying all over again.

"Hey, hey," he soothed, brushing away the new tears. "It's alright, Kagome." Inuyasha dropped a kiss to her forehead before pressing his to it so he could better look at her. "I'm glad you like it; and if you must know I was paying attention to the styles you said you liked when you looked at those jewelry ads way back when."

"And here I thought you were just leaning over me to stare down my shirt," she teased.

"That too," he admitted. "It's a glorious view. I don't know how you get stuff done when you wear low cut necklines." Inuyasha's heart soared when she laughed again. She'd stopped crying, and even if they were happy tears, it still tore him up inside. "Anyway, when I'd gone to your mom to ask for her blessing, I'd also asked about what size ring you would wear. If you wore them more often around here I could have just borrowed one and taken it to the jeweler. It took them a couple months to get it fitted when I'd put in the order; there was a backlog it seemed. I was told that I could come and get it in… September, I think?"

"S-Sept…tember?" she squeaked. "You've been carrying this around for _five months_?!"

"I don't think that's that long!"

Kagome leaned back slightly and looked at him with skepticism. She could see it in his face even then that he was trying to play it off.

"I mean… alright _fine_ five months is ridiculous," Inuyasha admitted, "but look – can you blame me? I wanted to do it right! I was thinking that if you said yes, that you'd want the moment to be one that you'd remember."

"I get that," she smiled. "You thought I'd say no? Really?

It was his turn to give her a skeptical look. "There were a few times I had the fear that you'd want things to stay as they are, or that you'd draw out the engagement until you decided you had enough of dragging out something that'd never happen. Guys do think about these things," he added when her expression began to change to confusion. "I know it's stupid _now_ , but think about how long it took to get where we are. You mean the world to me, Kagome. I don't want to risk losing you."

Her eyes softened as she listened to him give his reasons, and as it sunk in her heart melted. Of course it made sense. Hell, she'd been so skittish that first time she'd met him in the bookstore, that it was a wonder they'd gotten to this point at all. _'Though the art modeling seemed to fix that, looking back on it.'_ Even if it _had_ made things more complicated before they got easier. "I think if I were in your place, I would probably feel the same way," she replied. "But you know what? My answer is and will always be yes, Inuyasha."

Hearing her say that again made his heart swell.

The feel of her sitting in his lap, on the other hand, made something else swell. Something that she seemed to pick up on, if the way she bit down on her lip was any clue. That was something else that he loved about her. She did it when she was in thought, when she was nervous, but he especially liked it when he had her spread out before him, trembling with desire as he teased her.

Fuck he needed her. Right then.

Inuyasha scooped her up in his arms and made the shaky rise to his feet. The bed was right there, just a few feet away, but he wasn't interested in that. He had other plans in mind.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing?" Kagome tightened her hold on his neck as he rose up from the floor. Which, normally was a feat when carrying another person, but she'd also felt his cock twitch against her ass so she knew he was getting hard. As her back touched the leather of the lounger, she had a fairly good idea of what he _wanted_ to do.

"If you hadn't figured it out by now, I need to up my skills," he grinned, dropping back to his knees before the lower end of the couch. Inuyasha slipped his hands under each of her knees and pushed upwards. "Hold your legs up for me," he ordered when she gave him a questioning look.

Kagome felt foolish, hooking her hands under her knees to help keep them up as Inuyasha had asked. It wasn't unusual for them to experiment with different positions, but every time she did this on this couch…her ass ended up sliding downwards into the dip. It was hard to feel sexy when she couldn't even keep still like this. It was also hard to not laugh each time it happened.

Inuyasha didn't care. The sound of her choked laughter as she sunk didn't detract him from the view she presented, legs raised up and open, giving him easy access as he leaned across the couch and drug his tongue slowly through her folds. She let out a strangled moan as he did it again, and he couldn't help but grin. This mistake of a piece of furniture had been a _blessing_ in so many ways. It had helped bring them together at last, served as a tool for experimenting with new positions.

It also kept Kagome from squirming as he ate her out.

"Oh god, yes…" Kagome's head rolled back against the couch as Inuyasha's tongue dipped inside and swirled around her clit. The only thing that was better when he did this was when he trimmed his claws and used his fingers. Once a month on the night of the new moon just wouldn't be enough, as she'd learned that first time, and he'd taken care to trim and file them down from time to time for that reason. As he reached out to grab her hips, the small pricks against her skin meant that wouldn't be happening tonight, but that was fine. There was always a next time.

Right then, however, she was trying not to get a crick in her neck. Between the dip in the couch and Inuyasha's hold on her, her back was in the deepest part, and it was starting to make her neck hurt. As good as this felt, she didn't know if she could hold this for much longer.

"Inuyasha…I can't…"

The strained words hit his ears and Inuyasha knew something was wrong. That wasn't a sound he liked to hear. "Kagome? What's wrong?" he asked, lifting his head to look at her. What he could see of her expression from between her thighs and the scrunched position she was in….oh.

_Oh_.

"Fuck, Kagome – I'm sorry! Did I hurt you just now?" That was just his luck. Go to town on his fiancé right after she agrees to marry him and he attempts to bend her in half like a pretzel – and he's the dumbass that _asks_ if she's _alright_ as she's bent in half in the crook of a sex couch.

He was ticking off all the boxes of being a future husband tonight. Oh yes, star material right here.

Kagome blinked up at Inuyasha. "No, you didn't hurt me," she assured him, thinking he was talking about his claws. "I just… I don't know if I can lay like this much longer." It was embarrassing to admit, but she was getting stiff, even if she was close to the edge. But Inuyasha was looking at her with concern, so she might as well get it all out. "I like what you were doing, I really do…but I can't move and I need to…my neck…"

"Why didn't you say something?" he asked, rising to his feet. Inuyasha helped ease Kagome into a more upright position against the back of the couch before straddling it facing her. "I don't want you to put up with something if you're uncomfortable in _any_ way."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to kill the moment." Which was true, it had felt phenomenal up until her neck started to get stiff. "Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that I _couldn't_ move that I didn't like – I mean within reason I _like_ that….are you kidding me right now?"

"What?"

"You're going to sit there and jerk yourself as I tell you why I didn't want to stop you?"

Inuyasha grinned, leaving his hand wrapped around the base of his cock. "No, I'm jerking myself at the thought of you saying you _like_ being restrained." He really wasn't going to, and they both knew it. The urge to touch himself for just a moment was overpowering, a taste to stave him off before they got back to what they both wanted. The temptation to tease her was too great, however. "You can join me, if you want."

Her squeak in response had him laughing as he leaned forward to capture her lips in a kiss. It wasn't like they hadn't done that before either, but it was fun to make her blush. Took away the anxiety she had about asking him to stop when he did.

Kagome knew what he was doing, and she loved him for it. It meant everything that he was so understanding. She eagerly returned his kiss as he leaned over her, pushing her back into the couch. An appreciative moan escaped at the feel of his cock pressing insistently against her. "Inuyasha," she whispered, breaking the kiss. "I need you."

"Don't have to tell me twice," was his husky reply. Inuyasha shifted, scooting closer to Kagome as he lined the tip of his cock up with her folds, pushing in slowly. "You okay to raise your legs still?" At her nod, he slowly brought each thigh to rest against his chest, draping her knees over each shoulder. It opened her up more, letting him sink deeper into her, and it was fucking _wonderful_.

Staying in shape had always been about her health, but for moments like this Kagome was doubly glad that she kept up with her flexibility exercises. Aside from how deep she could feel Inuyasha thrust as he slowly rocked his hips into hers, this position was delicious in how it kept her in place and at his mercy. They hadn't taken things _that_ far, but the subtle dominance that would come out in him was something she liked. How much larger he was than her, pinning her against the couch as his thrusts increased…it had her back curled around the higher portion of the couch with each push.

He loved how she squeezed him, how each little gasp of his name on her lips only seemed to fuel him. Inuyasha loved that she was willing to try things with him. It had taken a little time to work up to that, and she was getting better at telling him what she didn't like or if she wasn't comfortable. And that she had no qualms about using this couch for its intended purpose?

Inuyasha couldn't possibly love her more.

Her gasps were becoming more frequent and his name was now a garbled mess of syllables, but she couldn't help it. The sensations were building quick and she couldn't hold back much longer. Kagome reached up, cupping his face and bringing him down to her level. The urge to kiss him was too great, and she was glad he obliged. Moments later her body tensed and she cried out his name, pulling him down with her.

The only sounds in the bedroom were the labored breathing of the couple slumped together on the couch. Inuyasha tried not to crush her with his weight, but fuck…it was hard to keep his balance after that.

"I think…" he struggled to catch his breath, "that there may be a downside…to this fucking couch."

Kagome's laugh was weak as she combed her fingers through his hair. "It's a _fucking_ couch, Inuyasha. How is there…a downside to that?"

He snorted at her joke. "Okay…you got me there. But…you have to admit that it's not designed for getting up in a hurry."

"Certainly got you up in a hurry that first time we used it."

Alright, _another_ good point. That was also the first time they had touched themselves in front of the other, if he remembered right. He hadn't been able to help himself, bent her over the high end of the couch, and well…he'd never heard any complaints. He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her again. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled.

"Sure I'm not hurting you?" Inuyasha shifted a bit, slipping out of her and easing her legs down until her feet touched the floor. Kagome brought his head down to her shoulder, and he settled against her. She'd murmured in his ear that she was fine, but he still wanted to be careful. He knew he needed to get up, that they both should get up and shower, clean off the lounger…just…not yet. He wanted to enjoy this peaceful feeling. It wasn't even the satisfaction at the sex they'd just had. It was knowing that he'd finally proposed to Kagome, and she'd said yes. She was going to be his wife one day.

"You know…" he started, trying not to doze off as she rubbed his ear. "When we have kids we're gonna have to do something about this couch."

"Already thinking about kids?" Kagome giggled, "We just got engaged, Inuyasha." Though she'd be lying if she were to say that the idea of having kids with him wasn't thrilling.

"Hey – it took me five months to propose to you. I figure it's better to plan ahead, don't you?"

"Mmm, that's true," she agreed. "We may wear it out before then, so it won't be a problem."

"True."

"And we could always upgrade to more subtle furniture, or find something that can be folded away…"

Was she suggesting… "What exactly did you have in mind?" He leaned up to look at her blushing face. "Kagome?"

"I don't know!"

He grinned. "Yes you do. What's my dirty girl thinking of?"

"Nothing!"

"Your face says otherwise."

"Inuyasha!"

"Kagome!"

He pinned her against the couch, nibbling along her neck, demanding that she tell him between nips and licks. Kagome squealed and squirmed against him, trying to get away. All her maneuvers did was encourage his cock for a second round.

They had nowhere to be, after all. He'd get the answers out of her one way or another.


End file.
